A major disease of aging is macular degeneration. It is estimated that currently 1.75 million Americans have severe vision problems due to macular degeneration. There are many more with lesser vision problems. An ongoing study, called AREDS, has shown that certain foods are important for healthy eyes.
Macular degeneration is reduced or loss of vision in the center of the visual field. To see what the loss of the middle area of what you are looking at check out the Macular Degeneration Stimulator at the American Society for Ophthalmology website. It is pretty scary.
More information about two types of macular degeneration, wet and dry, how it is detected and treatments can be found on the same website.
Macular degeneration has no cure. There are treatments that can reduce the symptoms, but so far there is nothing available that reverses the damage.
One thing that has been found to lower the risk of macular degeneration, by about 25% is eating a healthy diet.
The AREDS (age-related eye disease study) found that a diet high in vitamins C and E, zinc, lutein, zeaxanthin and the omega-3 fatty acids lowered the risk. Further, those who followed a low glycemic index diet (low carb) which included the above nutrients had the lowest risk.
Lutein and zeaxanthin are found in eggs and leafy green vegetables, broccoli, garden peas and corn. Zinc is found in whole grains, nuts, seeds and red meat.
A low glycemic index diet is one that does not result in spikes of glucose in the blood. This is basically low carb, but not completely. Some higher carb foods have a low glycemic index because they do not result in a rapid increase of blood glucose. For more information see the Glycemic Index website and look at the database.
Healthy diet = healthy eyes.
photo credit: zachd1_618
[tags]macular degeneration, zeaxanthin, lutein, zinc, glycemic index, low glycemic index diet, glucose, healthy eyes[/tags]
2 Comments
As people continue to live longer, the incidence of eye disease such as macular degeneration is on the rise. These types of debilitating eye diseases rob people of vision, and can result in individuals losing their independence.
It is believed that the visual system requires up to 25% of the nutrients we take into our bodies in order to stay healthy. Impaired circulation and/or poor absorption of nutrients can significantly contribute to eye disease. Regular exercise and management of emotional stress are also critical for maintaining health.
Eye conditions/diseases such as macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, cataracts and may others can be responsive to specific nutritional supplementation
For example. there is a great deal of peer review research now showing the vision can be preserved through a proper diet and specific nutritional supplementation, and that macular degeneration is a nutritionally responsive eye disease.
The recent B vitamin study showing that those that supplement with B6, B12 and folic acid have a significant lower risk of getting macular degeneration is one of many studies proving macular degeneration to be a nutritionally responsive eye disease.
Archives of Ophthalmology recently published a meta analysis on omega-3 fatty acid and fish intake and its effect on the prevention of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
This study identified 274 abstracts, 3 prospective cohort, 3 case-control, and 3 cross-sectional studies.
Using quantitative methods, a high dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids was associated with a 38% reduction in the risk of late AMD. Fish intake (2x per week) was associated with reduced risk of early and late AMD.
More omega-3 and AMD specific studies need to be conducted to further investigate omega-3¹s effect on AMD.
Ref: Arch Ophthalmol. 2008;126(6):826-833.
Essential nutrients include lutein, zeaxanthin, omega-3 fatty acids, taurine, gingko biloba, lycopene, vitamin A, E, zinc, copper, selenium for example, that can help both prevent the onset of eye disease such as macular degeneration as well as help preserve vision for those with macular degeneration.
Daily eye exercises also help maintain healthy vision. For a demo of 3 great eye exercises by Dr. Grossman, one of the Country’s leading behavioral optometrists, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W10j2fL0hy0
For more information on nutrition and macular degeneration and related research studies, go to Natural Eye Care for Macular Degeneration
Thank you for such a great comment. It is very informative. We all need more education about taking care of our eyes.
I watched the video and practiced the exercises. The “hot dog” is cool.
We can’t do anything about our genetics, but we can certainly improve our nutrition, do more exercise and relax more.
Thanks, Judith