* The Root Vegetable That Prevents Macular Degeneration (AMD), Biomedical Literature Suggest

Kyle J. Norton

Carrots may have a profound and positive effect in prevention of mascular degeneration, some scientists suggested.


Macular degeneration is a condition characterized by deterioration of the macula, the small central area of the retina of the eye that controls visual acuity.

Symptoms of early signs of AMD include central vision shadows or unusually fuzzy or distorted vision. 

According to statistic, approximately 6 percent of Americans age 40 and older have some forms of macular degeneration.

There are 2 types of macular degeneration, the dry and wet form.

The dry form is one of most common of macula degeneration accounted for over 85 to 90 % of the disease.

Dry macular degeneration also known as non-neovascular is an early stage of the disease caused by aging and thinning of macular tissues, leading to gradual central vision loss. 

In compared to the dry form, wet macular degeneration (neovascular) is a severed and advanced stage of the disease caused by new blood vessels grow beneath the retina and leak blood and fluid causing permanent damage to light-sensitive retinal cells in induction of blind spots in central vision.

Untreated or advanced stage of wet form AMD are also complicated by complete vision loss.

Dr. Ikram MK the lead author at the Singapore National Eye Centre study, said, "Persons with AMD are (regardless of treatment or not) at an increased risk of both cerebral infarction and intracerebral hemorrhage" and  "These data (the study) provide further insight into common pathophysiological processes between AMD and stroke subtypes"(4).

Conventional medicine used for treatment of AMD, such as Lucentis approved by FDA in 2006 can increase risk of heart attack and stroke.

Carrot, a root vegetable with orange color is a sub spices of Daucus carota, belongings to the family Apiaceae, native to Asian and Europe.


In the investigated the effect of major bioactive phytochemicals lutein and zeaxanthin isolated from orange pigment vegetables, including carrot in eye health, researchers at the Guelph Food Research Centre, found that application of indicated compounds exert a significantly protective effect of the yellow spot of the human retina which protect the macula from damage by blue light and improve visual acuity and scavenge harmful reactive oxygen species. 

Long term exposure to the blue light may cause structural, thermal and photochemical damage to the retinal, particularly, in aging population.

Further analysis also suggested that application of lutein and zeaxanthin increased antioxidants and stimulated natural antioxidants produced by the body tissue in inhibited over expression of free radicals and theirs chain of domino's effects caused by sunlight exposure in induction of oxidative stress.

The restoration of balance of the ratio of reactive oxygen species and antioxidants not only prevented oxidative damage to the cells of retina, but also reduced risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and cataracts, according to the research over the past decade in focused on the development of carotenoid-rich foods to boost their intake especially in the elderly population

Dr. Abdel-Aal el-SM, after taking into account of other co and con founders said, "The review also lists major dietary sources of lutein and zeaxanthin and refers to newly developed foods, daily intake, bioavailability and physiological effects in relation to eye health".

These suggestion not only addressed a strong protective effect of bioactive compound carotenoids found abundantly in carrot in improved eye health but also recommended daily and regular intake of a moderate amount of carrot in aging risk of macular degeneration.

Additionally, in the evaluation of the possibility of macular carotenoids, lutein (L), and zeaxanthin (Z) in ameliorated the retardation of age-related changes in the eye and prevention of the eye diseases such as cataract and macular degeneration, researchers at the University of Georgia suggested that intake of carotenoids rich food, such as carrot in the early life may be the best to protect against eye diseases due to aging.

The benefits of early carotenoids consumption in protected against retard age-related changes in the eye and the eye diseases were associated to influence of the development of the visual system through
* Altered input during a critical/sensitive period of visual development and/or

* Influenced maturation and/or

*Protected the retina during a period when it was particularly vulnerable.

Interestingly, in the differentiation of lutein and zeaxanthin accumulated throughout the tissues of the eye, specially in the central retina, researchers once again strongly found that circulated pigments' antioxidants serve a variety of roles in the specialized human vision, including all aspects of visual performance.

Taken together, Carrot with high amount of carotenoids ( lutein (L), and zeaxanthin) may be considered as functional food in prevention of eye diseases, particularly in older adult.

People with higher risk of eye diseases may want to add a portion of carrot into their daily diet for preventive measure. And intake of carrot extracts should be taken as acute liver toxicity has been reported in numbers of supplement.

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Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrients, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published on line, including world wide health, ezine articles, article base, healthblogs, selfgrowth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bio science, ISSN 0975-6299.


Sources
(1) Dietary sources of lutein and zeaxanthin carotenoids and their role in eye health by Abdel-Aal el-SM1, Akhtar H, Zaheer K, Ali R.(PubMed)
(2) Possible role for dietary lutein and zeaxanthin in visual development by Hammond BR Jr1(PubMed)
(3) Dietary lutein and zeaxanthin: possible effects on visual function by Stringham JM1, Hammond BR Jr.(PubMed)
(4) Age-related macular degeneration and long-term risk of stroke subtypes by Ikram MK1, Mitchell P, Klein R, Sharrett AR, Couper DJ, Wong TY(PubMed)