A Diet High in Carotenoids May Promote the Health of Women Later in Life

A Diet High in Carotenoids May Promote the Health of Women Later in Life

And how to increase the number of foods high in carotenoids in your diet.

You’ve probably tasted carotenoids, the antioxidants that give many red, orange, yellow, and green foods their color if you’ve ever bit into a crisp carrot or a juicy kiwi.

These natural food pigments have a long history of being used to reduce inflammation. Two carotenoids — lutein and zeaxanthin — have been linked to improved health in women later in life, according to recent studies.

Foods containing carotenoids may hold the delectable secret to reducing health issues that face women in their older years due to their advantages for eye and brain health.

Here’s why and how to include more of these vibrant minerals in your diet to help women live healthier, longer lives.

How Carotenoids Could Improve Old Women’s Health

Researchers looked at the so-called “mortality-morbidity paradox,” which highlights the fact that, although women normally live longer than males, they typically have more health issues, for the review, which was published in June in the journal Nutritional Neuroscience.

Billy R. Hammond, Ph.D., a professor in the behavioral and brain sciences department at the University of Georgia, and Lisa Renzi-Hammond, Ph.D., an assistant professor at the university’s Institute of Gerontology, set out to see if dietary components may aid women’s age-related diseases.

Carotenoids may be particularly important in the diets of women, despite the fact that antioxidants are beneficial for almost everyone. The risk of female health problems such breast and ovarian cancer, age-related muscle loss, inflammatory bowel disease, skin wrinkling, and multiple sclerosis has previously been linked to higher levels of carotenoids in the blood.

However, the focus of this study was on the interaction between two carotenoids, lutein, and zeaxanthin, or L and Z for short, and two additional conditions that disproportionately afflict women later in life: visual and neurodegenerative difficulties.

The researchers hypothesized that L and Z could aid women in reducing their risks because these conditions may be caused by oxidative and inflammatory stress — especially since antioxidants are known for their capacity to “clean” cells of harmful free radicals, or chemicals that have the potential to harm cells.

According to the review, lutein, and zeaxanthin directly enhanced performance and delayed aging in the brain and eyes. A diet rich in L and Z might decrease the progression of neurological conditions like dementia as well as visual disorders like cataracts and macular degeneration. The quality of life for older women may increase as a result of these developments. read more