Try Black Currants For Better Vision Health The All-Natural Way
| Posted In: Vision |
February 22, 2012 |
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The organic compounds found in black currants may also boost your mood and help your body support joint health, maintain soft and lustrous hair, reduce stress, and strengthen immunity!
If you're tired of choking down raw carrots as a way to maintain healthy eyesight, then you're in luck. Vision experts have announced that a tasty berry—one that used to be a mainstay in jams, jellies, and preserves—may be great for eye health.
As a bonus, the organic compounds found in this fruit may also boost your mood and help your body support joint health, maintain soft and lustrous hair, reduce stress, and strengthen immunity!
Not bad for one little blue-black berry.
Black Currants: Once Popular And Coming Back Into Style
People of a certain age may remember making preserves with black currants, storing them in the cupboard or cellar, and spreading them on hot toast during cold winter nights. While these berries fell out of favor for a while in the U.S., they're still enjoyed by folks in many chilly climates, like in Germany, Denmark, Russia, and New Zealand.
What is it about black currants that makes them so delicious on a cold night? It's hard to say. Maybe it's because their sweet, sticky, mildly astringent flavor makes them a great topping for steaming hot pancakes, toast, or rolls.
If you live in one of the colder U.S. states, you might run across black currants growing wild. They're easy to spot, since their clusters of blue-black berries stand out against their bright green leaves.
Although, if you live in Maine or New Hampshire, they may be harder to find. That's because the berries were once banned as a way to prevent them from spreading blister rust (a fungus) to white pines, which were needed during the U.S. logging boom.
However, logging is now on the decline, whereas black currants are booming. This is exciting news because scientists now believe that foods and vision health supplements made with black currant extract may help improve vision.
The Connection Between Black Currants And Eye Health
These berries contain several key vitamins and nutrients that have been shown to support eye health and vision for people with normal age-related eyesight trouble. And there's no shortage of those folks.
Perhaps you're one of them. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that:
- 1.6 million adults aged 50 or older have age-related macular degeneration
- 5.3 million older adults have poor retinal health related to metabolic issues or imbalanced blood sugar
While black currant-based nutritional health supplements are no replacement for a trip to the ophthalmologist's office, products made with these berries give your body the nutrients it needs to fight oxidative damage and maintain healthy vision longer.
Black Currants Are In Vision Health Supplements For Good Reason
Take a gander at black currants' vitamin C content, and you'll wonder where these wonderful berries have been all your life. According to the USDA, one cup of raw black currants contains 338% of this key antioxidant, which helps your body repair delicate tissues, slow cellular aging, and prevent damage caused by free radicals.
When it comes to vitamin C content, even raw oranges can't beat black currants. And that's not all this tasty berry can add to your diet.
Black currant extract also contains iron, potassium, manganese, calcium, vitamin A, alpha tocopherol, and gamma-linoleic acid (LA), a rare omega-6 essential fatty acid. LA conveniently contributes to better heart health and vascular well-being.
And while we're at it, we have to mention anthocyandin flavonids, which are the organic stuff that gives black currants their blue-black color. These compounds are another vital antioxidant, one that's especially good for preventing oxidative damage in eye cells and promoting healthy aging.
So Where Can You Get Black Currants?
These berries are certainly becoming more popular again, so you may be able to find them in the fresh produce section of your local grocery story. Usually, they're sold boxed in clear plastic containers, much like blackberries and blueberries.
However, there's a simpler way to get the benefits of black currants without relying on a jar full of jelly. Many of today's most advanced dietary supplement formulas contain black currants!
And don't worry if it's too dark to see your way to the cellar and its delicious preserves, because a Japanese study found that black currants may even improve night vision!