According to findings of the study at the Westmead Institute for Medical Research in Sydney, people who ate between 100 to 142 mgs of vegetable nitrates each day had a 35 per cent lower risk of developing early AMD than people who ate less than 69mgs of vegetable nitrates each day
To this end, the lead Re searcher, Associate Professor Bamini Gopinath, from the Westmead Institute and the University of Sydney, said the confirmation of this finding could necessitate incorporating a range of foods rich in dietary nitrates including green leafy vegetables and beetroot as a simple strategy to reduce the risk of early macular degeneration.
Macular degeneration, also known as age-related macular degeneration (AMD or ARMD), is a medical condition, which may result in blurred or no vision in the centre of the visual field. It is due to damage to the macula of the retina. Gopinath said the link between vegetable nitrates and macular degeneration could have important implications.
“Essentially, we found that people who ate 100 to 142 mgs of vegetable nitrates every day had a reduced risk of developing early signs of macular degeneration compared with people who ate fewer nitrates. Spinach has approximately 20mg of nitrate per 100g, while beetroot has nearly 15mg of nitrate per 100g. The team interviewed more than 2,000 Australian adults, aged over 49 and followed them over a 15-year period. Age is the strongest known risk factor and the disease is more likely to occur after the age of 50.
There is currently no cure for the disease. The research compiled data from the Blue Mountains Eye Study, a benchmark population-based study that started in 1992. It is one of the world’s largest epidemiology studies, measuring diet and lifestyle factors against health outcomes and a range of chronic diseases. Gopinath added: “Our research aims to understand why eye diseases occur, as well as the genetic and environmental conditions that may threaten vision.”
