Macular degeneration is a condition linked to age, which is one of the main causes of vision loss in people over sixty years of age. But now, a new study by the University of Sydney, Australia, have found that people who eat oranges usually have less risk of suffering it.
Specifically, the researchers found that they had a 60% lower risk of macular degeneration over the years, than those who did not eat citrus. And the benefits were already observed with just eating an orange a week.
The authors of the study attribute this positive effect of this fruit to flavonoids, natural pigments that are present in almost all vegetables, and that provide protection against damage caused by oxidizing substances.
Although, surprisingly, the researchers examined other foods that also contained flavonoids, and found that they did not offer the same protection against macular degeneration as oranges.
