Egg intake linked to preventing blindness
A compound in eggs has been found to help ward off macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in Australia.
Leutine, a plant chemical found in green leafy vegetables and egg yolks, helps protect the eye against damage from ultraviolet and other light, US biochemist and nutrition researcher Donald McNamara said yesterday. "Leutine is the only compound the body concentrates in the macular region of the eye, and it does that because leutine absorbs blue wavelength and ultraviolet light and so protects that region of the eye from the damage," Dr McNamara said.
"When you don't have sufficient leutine in your diet, you run a greater risk of macular degeneration, in which you'll start to see a black spot in the middle of your vision."
Smokers, people with blue eyes, older people and those with a family history are most at risk. "People at higher risk should get leutine from a variety of sources, but you optimise your intake of it from eggs," Dr McNamara said before speaking at a conference in Sydney.
Leutine in yolks is more easily absorbed than most other sources. "You get almost three times more into the blood stream from eggs than from spinach and other vegetables," he said.
A study of people who ate six eggs a week over three months measured an increase in the amount of macular pigment density, "so the leutine accumulates in the eye".