If you hate carrots, you’ll love this: GRAPES also help you see in the dark, study suggests

Your eyesight may not have to suffer if you are picky about vegetables.

A new study suggests that the beloved grapes are just as good for your eyes as carrots, which have long been known for their vision-enhancing effects.

Just a few handfuls of grapes a day for four months has been shown to improve key markers of eye health.

The secret lies in the fact that much degeneration of the eyes is due to oxidative stress, and grapes are high in antioxidants.

For the same reasons, grapes have also been shown to rapidly lower cholesterol, with research now indicating that they are among an elite group of superfruits.

A new study suggests that grapes are just as good for your eyes as carrots, which have long been known for their vision-enhancing effects

In the latest study, a team from the National University of Singapore took 34 adults who ate either one and a half cups of grapes a day or a placebo for 16 weeks.

The grape eaters showed a significant increase in macular pigment optical density (MPOD), plasma antioxidant capacity and total phenolic content compared to those on placebo.

Those who did not eat grapes saw a significant increase in harmful ocular advanced glycation end products (AGE), as measured in the skin.

The study, published in the journal Food & Function, said the most important risk factors for eye disease include oxidative stress and high levels of AGE.

The researchers found that AGEs can contribute to many eye diseases by damaging the vascular components of the retina, impairing cellular function and causing oxidative stress.

Grapes, which are a natural source of antioxidants and other polyphenols, can reduce oxidative stress and inhibit the formation of AGEs, with possible beneficial effects on the retina, such as an improvement in MPOD.

Co-author of the study, Dr Jung Eun Kim, said: ‘Our study is the first to show that grape consumption has a beneficial impact on eye health in humans, which is very exciting, especially with a growing aging population.

‘Grapes are an easy, accessible fruit that studies have shown can have a beneficial impact in normal amounts of just 1½ cups a day.

“Regular consumption of grapes may improve eye health in older adults, specifically in the supplementation of MPOD, which may be explained by an increase in plasma total antioxidant capacity and phenolic content, and the downregulation of AGEs.”