Parents have always told their children to eat their broccoli and spinach because it would help them to grow up big and strong. Well, we may not end up like Popeye if we eat these vegetables, but we may gain some protection against such diseases as macular degeneration, atherosclerosis, and colon cancer, thanks to a carotenoid called lutein.
According to Jack Challem and Liz Brown, authors of the Basic Health Publications User's Guide to Vitamins and Minerals, "the carotenoids are fat-soluble antioxidants that plants produce to protect themselves from the damaging effects of free radicals."
The Wisdom of Popeye
A list in the January 2000 issue of Environmental Nutrition, shows that lutein can be found naturally in "kale, spinach, turnip greens, corn, broccoli, romaine lettuce, zucchini, green peas, oranges, papayas, and in egg yolks," though the magazine states that the vegetables provide far more lutein compared to the fruits and egg yolks.
In addition, says Charlotte LoBuono, the lead author of "Drug Therapy Q&A," an article in the October 30, 2001 issue of Patient Care, lutein "is also available as a supplement and as a component of multivitamins."
One of the benefits lutein is most known for is keeping the eyes healthy. Robert Abel, Jr. M.D. says in his book, The Eye Care Revolution, that lutein is important for the "maintenance of good sight." Abel states farther that lutein protects the eyes "because it counteracts damage from ultraviolet and blue light." More specifically, lutein helps to protect against macular degeneration, which is "a visually impairing, painless disease of the retina of the eye," as Ira Marc Price, O.D. and Linda Comae, M.A. define it in their book, Coping with Macular Degeneration. Price and Comae say that this disease often comes with age.
AMA Journal
Lutein can give us some hope though as Challem and Brown state that "a study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association... found that people who eat foods rich in lutein—particularly kale and spinach—were less likely to develop macular degeneration." However, they say that while takng lutein supplements will not reverse the eye disease, consuming lutein, along with zeaxanthin, another antioxidant, can slow its progression.
Lutein Fights Cataracts
As well as protecting against macular degeneration, intake of lutein may reduce the risk of developing cataracts, according to two studies. Charlotte LoBuono and her co-authors report that the Nurses' Health Study that began in 1976, and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, both found that participants who had the greatest intake of lutein and zeaxanthin had reduced risks in developing cataracts. The Nurses' Health Study revealed that patients who consumed the most lutein had a 22% risk reduction, and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study showed a 19% reduction risk.
While all this information on some of the benefits of lutein may be eye-opening (pardon the pun), this carotenoid also has claim to fame in that it can also protect against atherosclerosis.
The article "Popeye's Favorite for Strong-to-the-Finish Arteries" in the January 2002 issue of Prevention says that "new evidence from the Los Angeles Atherosclerosis Study suggests that just one-half cup of a lutein-rich food daily ... guards against heart attacks by helping artery walls 'shrug off invaders that cause clogging."
Researchers in this study used ultrasound to measure "the carotid (neck) arteries of 480 people, ages 40 to 60, and checked the levels of lutein in their blood." Eighteen months later, the researchers rechecked their participants' blood and found that "those with the lowest lutein levels showed the most artery thickening—a sign of atherosclerosis—while those with the highest lutein levels showed almost no change.
Researcher James H. Dwyer, PhD., who was quoted in the January 2002 issue of Prevention, explains that "arteries treated with lutein were less likely to attract monocytes—white blood cells that penetrate artery walls and oxidize bad LDL cholesterol..." which then leads to atherosclerosis.
Lutein and Your Colon
Along with a healthy heart and eyes, we can add the colon to the list of lutein's beneficiaries. As noted in the March 2000 issue of Environmental Nutrition, "in a study of over 4,000 people, half of whom were newly diagnosed with colon cancer, a higher intake of lutein over the previous two years was associated with a 17% lower risk of colon cancer." Apparently, because lutein is an antioxidant, it possibly can "protect cell membranes that line the colon from free-radical damage."
So, the sources tell us, it certainly seems as if lutein can aid certain body parts as we age, and that it would be to our advantage to add lutein-packed foods to our diets if we haven't already done so.
Remember, we may not end up like Popeye, but at least our eyes, hearts, and colons will be in good shape.
References:
Basic Health Publications User's Guide to Vitamins and Minerals by Jack Challem and Liz Brown
Coping with Macular Degeneration by Ira Marc Price, O.D., and Linda Comae, M.A.
"Drug Therapy Q&A," by Charlotte LoBuono et al.. Patient Care, October 30, 2001
"Eggs Provide Eye Protection, But are No Match for Leafy Greens," Environmental Nutrition, January 2000
"Lutein-Rich Foods Confer Colon Cancer Protection," Environmental Nutrition, March 2000
"Popeye's Favorite for Strong-to-the-Finish Arteries," Prevention, January 2002 The Eye Care Revolution by Robert Abel, Jr., M.D.
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