I am sure you all remember your parents telling you to eat up those carrots as they will help you see in the dark? As we grew into obnoxious teenagers from gullible children, this most likely was responded with a grumble and a “yeah, whatever mum.” However, after all the evenings at the dinner table with carrots thrust upon us, were our parents right after-all?
New research from JAMA Ophthalmology, showed that the carotenoids, found in carrots and other orange coloured vegetables such sweet potato, were linked to a 25 to 35% reduced risk of age-related macular degeneration.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a painless eye condition that causes you to lose central vision, usually in both eyes. It currently affects more than 600,000 people in the UK and is the leading cause of vision loss. By 2020, it’s predicted almost 700,000 people will have late-stage AMD in the UK. For reasons that are unknown, AMD tends to be more common in women than men and in people over the age of 50.
So, tonight eat up those carrots! Maybe throw in a slice of carrot cake too for good measure 🙂