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A higher intake of vitamin C from food could reduce the risk of cataract
STATES CHRONICLE – Vitamin C is probably one of the most common vitamins as we use it to boost our immune systems, especially in the cold season, so we don’t catch a cold. It can usually be found in citrus fruits, but many people choose to take it as a medicine.
A recent study shows that vitamin C is no longer just the go-to repellent of colds, but it might also help reduce the risk of cataracts. The study was published on March 23 in the journal Ophthalmology.
Cataracts develop as we get old and affect our eyes in the way that they make the eye’s lens unclear, somewhat foggy. Although they can be removed, they are still the number one cause of blindness around the world.
Although a higher intake of vitamin C won’t stop cataracts from developing, it could delay their onset and prevent them from worsening at a rapid pace. For the study, researchers recruited over 1,000 pairs of female twins from Britain. The subjects were over the age of 60.
The findings showed that the females who had a higher intake of vitamin C were three times less likely to develop cataracts in the next 10 years. However, it turns out that taking vitamin C as a supplement instead of naturally doesn’t really help you reduce the risk of cataract.
Therefore, make sure your vitamin C intake comes from what you eat and drink and not from the drug store. It was believed that the most important factor in developing cataracts was genetics. However, this is the first study to show that lifestyle and diet could be equally important or even more important than genetics.
The fact that vitamin C may reduce the risk of cataract is explained by the fact that the vitamin is a strong antioxidant, so it will prevent the fluid inside the eye from oxidation which would lead to the clouding of the lens.
All in all, genetics are not everything and if you keep in mind that a balanced diet consisting of all nutrients we need as well as a generally healthy lifestyle can actually help us be healthy for a longer time, we could avoid developing many conditions.
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