Oranges Linked to Lower Risk of Macular Degeneration

Eating an apple a day may keep the doctor away, but eating oranges could protect you from macular degeneration -- at least that's what researchers are saying. According to a new study conducted by researchers from the Westmead Institute for Medical Research, people who eat oranges on a regular basis have a lower risk of developing macular degeneration than their counterparts who rarely or ever consume this citrus fruit.

Affecting about 6.2 million people worldwide, macular degeneration is a medical condition in which a person experienced blurred vision or partial blindness in the center of the eye. The onset typically has no noticeable symptoms, making it difficult to diagnose. As macular degeneration progresses, however, it can affect the person's vision and even lead to partial blindness.

Like other medical conditions, a variety of factors influence a person's risk of developing macular degeneration. Age, for example, is one of the most influential risk factors of this condition. Statistics show that 12% of people 80 years of age or older suffer from macular degeneration, compared to just 0.4% of people between 50 and 60 years of age.

And while there's no way to completely protect yourself from macular degeneration, adding oranges to your diet may help. After following more than 2,000 men and women over the age of 50 for 15 years, researchers found that participants who consumed at least one orange per day were 60% less likely to develop macular degeneration than participants who consumed the least amount of oranges.

So, how are oranges able to protect against macular degeneration? That's what researchers are trying to determine. However, some believe the vision-boosting properties of oranges are attributed to the fruit's high concentrations of antioxidants known as flavonoids.

"Our research is different because we focused on the relationship between flavonoids and macular degeneration. Flavonoids are powerful antioxidants found in almost all fruits and vegetables, and they have important anti-inflammatory benefits for the immune system. We examined common foods that contain flavonoids such as tea, apples, red wine and oranges," wrote the study's researchers. "Significantly, the data did not show a relationship between other food sources protecting the eyes against the disease."