Natural Cure For Macular Degeneration

New research by Manchester University in the UK, has pinpointed a natural cure for macular degeneration.

Macular degeneration is a condition brought about by the damage sunlight does to the delicate cones and rods at the back of the eye. This damage is accumulative, and can present at any time from aged 50 onwards. For this reason, it is often known as age related macular degeneration.

Symptoms are the loss of central vision as well as detail vision. The delicate rods and cones at the back of the eye are normally protected from sunlight damage by a yellow gel, containing macular pigment. As continued exposure to sunlight breaks this pigment down, the protection is reduced and the damage to the eyes is increased.

There is no known macular degeneration cure or surgical procedure. However, it was known the natural substance in green leafy vegetables, called lutine, can be beneficial. So the objective of the Manchester University research was to see if this could be used as a natural cure for macular degeneration. Lutine is a yellow substance, normally hidden inside the leaf, but which shows up on the edges of leaves when no longer fresh and the green pigment starts to fade.

They enrolled a group of elderly people, who all showed the first signs of age related macular degeneration, and fed them 100 grams of spinach every day for six months.  The vegetable was either eaten raw in a salad or lightly cooked.

At the end of the trial, most users reported an improvement in their eyesight.

Most spectacular was the case of a lady in her mid 70s, who has spent much of her life out of doors. This had resulted in a marked eyesight deterioration, to the extent she was nearly blind.

This lady did report a slight improvement after just one month. However, full clinical tests after the full six month period of the experiment showed a 10% increase in macular pigment with a corresponding improvement in her eye sight.

Not a macular degeneration cure, but a very promising reversal of a debilitating condition.

One of the positive side effects of this was that many of the participants gained a new interest in healthy eating and the power of food to alleviate -- and even reverse -- some of the signs of aging. Lutine can also be obtained from other leafy green vegetables, such as kale, as well as kiwi fruit and eggs.

So Popeye was right all along: not only is spinach good for your general wellness, it is also a natural cure for macular degeneration.

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