Consuming more produce with vibrant colours can help reduce health problems affecting women.
“The idea is that men get a lot of the diseases that tend to kill you, but women get those diseases less often or later so they perseverate but with illnesses that are debilitating,” said Billy R. Hammond, a professor in UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences department of psychology behavioral and brains sciences program and co-author of the study. “For example, of all of the existing cases of macular degeneration and dementia in the world, two-thirds are women … these diseases that women suffer for years are the very ones most amenable to prevention through lifestyle.”
Women often have greater rates of sickness while living longer on average than males.
A better diet rich in pigmented carotenoids, such as those found in yams, kale, spinach, watermelon, bell peppers, tomatoes, oranges, and carrots, is now suggested by recent research from the University of Georgia as a way to reduce these greater incidences of sickness. These colourful produce items play a crucial role in minimising cognitive and visual decline.
Even after accounting for differences in longevity, the study showed that women experience a number of degenerative disorders at significantly higher rates than men, including autoimmune diseases and dementia.The way women retain vitamins and minerals in their bodies is one of the factors contributing to this sensitivity.
Women often have more body fat than males, according to Hammond. Many dietary vitamins and minerals are significantly sunk by body fat, which provides pregnant women with a helpful reservoir. Women are more at risk for degenerative issues because of this availability, which means there is less available for the retina and the brain.
Pigmented carotenoids in the human diet serve as antioxidants. Lutein and zeaxanthin, two distinct carotenoids found in particular tissues of the eye and brain, have been demonstrated to directly ameliorate central nervous system degeneration.
Supplements containing carotenoids are also available, and the National Institutes of Health’s National Eye Institute programme has concentrated resources on certain carotenoids. Additionally, Hammond said that ingesting lutein and zeaxanthin through food is a far superior method than using pills to increase intake.
“Components of diet influence the brain, from things like personality to even our concept of self. I don’t think people quite realize what a profound effect diet has on basically who they are, their mood, even their propensity to anger,” Hammond said. “And now of course this is extended to the microbiome and the bacteria that make up your gut — all of these components work together to create the building blocks that compose our brain and the neurotransmitters that mediate its use.”
Parvathy Sukumaran 
