If he/it was always to the small screen today, the character of Popeye the sailor would probably have aged. But his/her/its legendary spinach would not limit themselves to procure him an extraordinary power: this vegetable to green leaves would also protect it against the degeneration maculaire.
To protect itself/themselves from the ultraviolet rays of the sun, our eyes count on two present pigments in the crystalline of the eye: the and her – two antioxidants of the family of the.
But while aging, this protection crumbles. It is why aged of more than 75 years are reached about 30% of people, to different degrees, of degeneration maculaire.
However, a food contribution being sufficient in lutéine and in zéaxanthine – either 6 mg per day – could warn the eldests against this loss of the visual acuteness. And spinach constitutes one of the best sources of it, although their concentration varies from a type of spinach to the other (of 4,4 mg to 15,9 mg by 100 g, according to the cultivar).
It is precisely what to value Dean A. Kopsell wanted, researcher to the university of the Tennessee. From 14 different cultivars, he/it compared the blood concentration of lutéine and zéaxanthine by volunteers that, during 12 weeks, integrated spinach to their daily food.
Results: the concentrations of the two antioxidants increased among all subjects, including those that had taken supplements of lutéine rather than to consume spinach. The tests of optic density of the pigmentation maculaire also showed a protection increased of the eye.
Nevertheless, spinach would be preferable to the supplements of lutéine, according to Dean A. Kopsell. ” The whole vegetable contains several nutriments, of which the calcium, that facilitates the blood transportation of the lutéine and the zéaxantine until the eye”, he/it has underlined.
According to him, all cultivars contains protective properties against the degeneration maculaire, even though the Spinner is the one that gave the best results.
And because it is about mature leaves, the canned spinach that Popeye valued so much also proves to be a good choice!
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