We have all heard the saying “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”, but what if eating fruit could also protect your eyes? Well, new data suggests that people who eat more foods with flavonoids (healthy, non-vitamin plant ingredients) have less macular degeneration.

Say What?
In case you don’t know, macular degeneration occurs when a small portion of the retina in the eye deteriorates. It is a leading cause of vision loss, affecting 10 million Americans over the age of 60. Scientists still don’t know what causes macular degeneration. However, it does seem like a healthy diet might help, and some researchers are interested in dietary plant ingredients, like flavonoids. Flavonoids are bioactive compounds with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that are usually found in foods such as tea, chocolate, red wine, fruit, and vegetables.

The New Findings
Researchers in Australia followed 2856 people over 15 years, recorded their food intake and calculated flavonoid consumption. They found that people who ate more foods containing flavonoids were 24% less likely to develop macular degeneration. In particular, those who ate more than one serving (one cup) of oranges a day, which are high in flavonoids, were 58% less likely to develop any macular degeneration. What’s even more interesting is that people eating more than one serving of oranges a week were 92% less likely to develop macular degeneration(!).

Rush the Citrus Aisle?
Maybe, but this is just some early evidence. It’s too early to say that daily flavonoid intake will prevent macular degeneration, but other studies have also shown that eating more than a cup of fruits or vegetables per day may support eye health. But flavonoids aren’t just good for your eyes; one study suggests that they may also help with weight control. And diets high in flavonoids can even reduce the risk of colorectal cancers. So, if you’re looking for a well-balanced diet that contains several servings of flavonol-rich foods each week, you might want to try the Mediterranean diet. It can improve many aspects of overall health, including heart health, and may also lower the risk for macular degeneration.