Originally published February 6 2006
Antioxidant diets may promote eye health, according to study from the Netherlands
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Medpagetoday.com reviews a recent study of antioxidant diets, which claims that high amounts of vitamin C and E, and related substances can help prevent the condition known as macular degeneration, an eye problem associated with aging.
A diet high in antioxidants including vitamins C and E may forestall age-related macular degeneration, according to researchers here.
Older individuals who consumed above-median amounts of beta carotene, zinc, and vitamins C and E in their diet were 35% less likely to be diagnosed with the disease, reported Redmer van Leeuwen, M.D., Ph.D., of the Erasmus Medical Center and colleagues.
The study, published in the Dec. 28 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, added to the growing yet often conflicting evidence about the effect of dietary antioxidants on age-related macular degeneration, a disease linked to oxidative stress.
The randomized, placebo-controlled Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) showed that supplement intake of five to 13 times the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of beta carotene, vitamins C and E, and zinc, given to participants from retinal clinics with early or monocular late age-related macular degeneration, resulted in a 25% reduction in the five-year progression to late age-related macular degeneration, the authors noted.
All participants underwent an ophthalmologic exam and completed a food frequency questionnaire at baseline (from 1990 to 1993).
Participants underwent three additional follow-up eye exams at yearly intervals until 2004.
After adjusting for potential confounders, a 1-standard deviation increase in dietary vitamin E intake was associated with a reduced disease risk of 8% (hazard ratio=0.92; 95% confidence interval=0.84-1.00).
Above-median intake of all of four key nutrients-beta carotene, zinc, and vitamins C and E-was associated with 35% reduced risk (HR=0.65; 95% CI=0.46-0.92), compared with below-median intake.
Excluding the 559 participants who took antioxidant supplements from the analysis did not substantially change the results, although the researchers noted that the number of supplement-takers was relatively small and that there was no data on what dosages they took or how long they took supplements.
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