Grapes Make Our Eyesight Better

​Everybody knows that eating carrots is good for our eyesight. A new study suggests that grapes are also good for our eyes. Researchers from the National University of Singapore have found that eating just a few grapes a day can improve our vision. This is especially so for people who are older. Dr Eun Kim, the lead researcher, said: "Our study is the first to show that grape consumption beneficially impacts eye health in humans, which is very exciting, especially with a growing, ageing population." Dr Kim added that, "grapes are an easily accessible fruit that studies have shown can have a beneficial impact" on our eyesight. This is good news for people who don't really like carrots.

​The study is published in the journal "Food & Function". Thirty-four adults took part in a series of experiments over 16 weeks. Half of the participants ate one-and-a-half cups of grapes per day; the other half ate a placebo snack. Dr Kim did not tell the participants or the researchers whether she was testing the grapes or the snack. She thought that not revealing this information would give better test results. She found that people who ate the grapes had improved muscle strength around the retina. The retina passes information about light to the brain via electrical signals. It protects the eyes from damaging blue light. A lot of blue light comes from computer and smartphone screens, and from LED lights.