A new study has suggested that vitamin C not only prevents you from colds, but also helps in warding off cataracts, clouding of the normally clear lens of an eye.

People who prefer eating diet rich with the nutrient can decrease their chances of suffering from cataract progression by more than 30%, as per a study published Wednesday in the journal Ophthalmology. It is the first research that links cataract development and diet.

A number of people around the globe suffer from cataract. It is a disease that occurs naturally with age, as per health experts. In this, an area of a person’s eye becomes less clear. According to health experts, cataracts can be removed, but they are still the major cause of blindness in the world.

For the new study, researchers examined over a thousand pairs of British female twins. All the participants were 60 years old. Those who included vitamin C in high amounts in their diet had about 33% less chances of developing cataract in next one decade, as per the researchers.

The researchers also mentioned that they didn’t find any association between vitamin C supplement and reduced the risk of the disease. The study has just linked intake of vitamin C and the disease, and didn’t prove cause-and-effect relationship between the two.

It is not possible to prevent cataracts totally, but they can be delayed with diet rich in vitamin C, said Dr. Christopher Hammond, a professor of ophthalmology at Kings College London and lead researcher of the study. “The most important finding was that vitamin C intake from food seemed to protect against cataract progression”, Hammond added.

The researchers believe that a diet rich in vitamin C can boost the amount of the vitamin in the eye fluid and delay the disease.