Eat colorful fruits and vegetables to avoid cataract later in life

CHINA: A new study has shed light on the importance of certain vitamins and carotenoids for the prevention of age-related cataract (ARC).

The study, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has found that consuming a diet rich in colorful fruits and vegetables i.e. the foods rich in carotenoids and vitamins lowers the risk of developing ARC. Such foods include tomatoes, carrots, capsicum and dark green vegetables such as kale, broccoli, spinach.

Existing studies suggest that dietary vitamins and carotenoids might be associated with a reduced risk of age-related cataract (ARC), although a quantitative summary of these associations is lacking. Hong Jiang, School of Public Health, Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Xi'an, China, and colleagues conducted a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and cohort studies of dietary vitamin and carotenoid intake and ARC risk. They included 8 RCTs and 12 cohort studies in the meta-analysis.

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Key findings of the study include:

• Most vitamins and carotenoids were significantly associated with reduced risk of ARC in the cohort studies, including vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, β-carotene, and lutein or zeaxanthin.


• In RCTs, vitamin E or β-carotene intervention did not reduce the risk of ARC significantly compared with the placebo group.


• Further dose-response analysis indicated that in cohort studies the risk of ARC significantly decreased by 26% for every 10-mg/d increase in lutein or zeaxanthin intake, by 18% for each 500-mg/d increase in vitamin C intake, by 8% for each 5-mg/d increase in β-carotene intake, and by 6% for every 5 mg/d increase in vitamin A intake.

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"If we could delay the onset of ARC by 10 years, it could halve the number of people requiring surgery," according to a co-author of the study.

For detailed study log on to https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqy270