Fruit and veg that protect against devastating disease

Red, orange and yellow fruits and vegetables may help prevent the development of motor neurone disease, researchers reveal today.

The brightly coloured foods all contain carotenoids, which give them their colour.

Now a study involving a million people has suggested a strong link between these foods and avoiding the disease.

Its most notable victim is the astrophysicist Professor Stephen Hawking and in the USA it is known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Reporting in the Annals of Neurology, researchers say that people with large amounts of carotenoid in their diet were also likely to have an advanced degree and high vitamin C consumption.

But, they say, the evidence suggests a direct link between carotenoids and the disease.

In the study more than 1,000 people were found to have motor neurone disease.

Researcher Professor Alberto Ascherio, of Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, said it was one of the largest studies to examine the effect of dietary antioxidants on the disease.

He said: "Our findings suggest that consuming carotenoid-rich foods may help prevent or delay the onset of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis."

Intakes of Vitamin C and Carotenoids and Risk of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Annals of Neurology 29 January 2013; DOI:10.1002/ana.23820