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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels November 23, 2004 The Kitchen Coach Save your sight the tasty way Rebecca Wood Helping prevent macular degeneration (MD) is as near at hand as corn and collards. Lutein and zeaxanthin, the two carotenoid pigments that color yellow and green produce, are the responsible antioxidants. When you eat ample colorful veggies and fruit, you protect your retinas. Of course, an overall healthy diet and lifestyle supports healthy vision. But lutein and zeaxanthin appear to be the most potent nutrients to prevent MD. This degenerative eye disease is the leading cause of legal blindness in people over the age of 55. That's why people are advised to eat more produce. What to do, however, if you cherish your vision but don't like collards and tire of corn? The good news is there are dozens of antioxidant-rich vegetables and fruits. So do your eyes a favor and the next time you're at the market, go for color. Look afresh at the produce section and bring home something orange and a couple of leafy strangers. Should your market have only a paltry selection of bright veggies, find a better market. Let's look at the sources for both lutein and zeaxanthin. The latter is highest in yellow corn, yellow and orange peppers, winter squash, carrots, yams, cantaloupe, peaches, grapes, oranges, mangos and nectarines. My rule of thumb is to daily enjoy a serving of a yellow vegetable and, in season, a yellow fruit. Because lutein is most abundant in greens, here's a map for identifying - and using - the lutein rich greens. Aim for a minimum of three green servings daily. The darker the green, the higher the lutein. So which veggie part is the green gold-mine? It's the leaf. Curiously enough only four botanical families provide over 95 percent of the leafy greens in our markets. Because the vegetables in each group share culinary properties all you need to know is how to use one from each family and then you can freely substitute others. This expands your green repertoire exponentially. And, here's the good news. You can already fix lettuce, spinach, parsley and broccoli and they each represent one of the four leafy groups. Have you met lettuce's relations? Dandelions, endive, frissee and the various types of chicory are all great in salads. If they're exceptionally bitter, add them sparingly to a salad or parboil and serve them like spinach. Braising, which means simply to saute until wilted, also works for lettuce and its clan. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams