Healthy tears: Vitamin C May Protect against Cataracts:
A new study shows that increasing vitamin C intake may provide a protective benefit against cataract progression.
324 pairs of female twins participated in this study which lasted over 10 years. Photographs, which looked at the lenses of the study participants, showed in detail the opacity of the lens. The amount of vitamin C intakes in all the participants was also measured through the use of a food questionnaire.
Study participants with high levels of dietary vitamin C intake had a 33% reduction in the risk of cataract progression and had clearer lens than study participants who consumed the least amount of dietary vitamin C.
Researchers suggested that increased vitamin C intake may provide a preventative effect on cataract progression by increasing the vitamin C available in the eye fluid that bathes the lens. Since man is the only mammal that does not produce vitamin C internally, we depend on either our foods or our vitamins to provide the needed amount of this nutrient. This is not the first study to show these findings. The Blue Mountains Eye Study also found vitamin C through diet or supplementation resulted in lower nuclear cataract occurrence over a 10 year period.
Questions? ASK US WE KNOW ! ! ! !
