SYDNEY, July 16 (Xinhua) -- A study recently found that regular orange eaters have a significantly decreased chance of developing macular degeneration, a common age-related eye disease among middle-aged Australians.
The study interviewed more than 2,000 Australian adults aged over 50 and followed them over a 15-year period, according to the Australia-based Westmead Institute for Medical Research.
It is found that people who eat at least one serving of oranges every day report an over 60 percent reduced risk of having blurred vision 15 years later. This has been found to hold true even for those who eat only one orange per week.
Lead researcher Associate Professor Bamini Gopinath from the University of Sydney said that the data indicated how flavonoids in oranges may help prevent macular degeneration.
Flavonoids are powerful antioxidants found in almost all fruits and vegetables. They are believed to have important anti-inflammatory benefits for the immune system. However, so far there has been no cure for macular degeneration.
The research aims to explore the reasons behind eye diseases as well as the genetic and environmental conditions that may threaten vision.