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Macular Degeneration; Prevention.
Article From: NWHRC Health Center – Macular Degeneration
Article Date: March 16, 2005
There is no known way to prevent age-related macular degeneration (AMD), although the vitamin/mineral combination described earlier (high doses of vitamin C, E, beta carotene and zinc-along with copper) can slow intermediate or early advanced AMD from progressing.
Your best bet for protecting your eyesight is getting regular, comprehensive eye examinations. If you are diagnosed with dry AMD, the National Eye Institute recommends a dilated pupil eye exam at least once a year. And, because dry AMD can progress to wet AMD, if you have dry AMD, you might want to discuss with your health care professional whether you should use an Amsler grid to check each eye periodically for signs of wet AMD. If you detect changes, contact your health care professional for an eye exam.
If you are diagnosed with wet AMD, and your health care professional may recommend laser surgery/photodynamic therapy/injections, don’t delay the procedure. If you do, the disease may progress to the point where treatment to try to slow its progression and protect remaining sight may not be an option. Ask your health care professional which other steps you should take to evaluate and preserve your vision, particularly in the arena of vitamin/mineral supplements.
Your lifestyle can play a role in reducing your risk of developing AMD:
- eat a healthy diet high in green, leafy vegetables and fish * do not smoke
- maintain normal blood pressure
- watch your weight
- exercise
See Food – Omega – 3′s In Fish May Mitigate Effect On Of ARMD
Article From: Seafood Business
Article Date: 1 August 2010
Author: Lauren Kramer
As kids we are taught that eating carrots leads to better vision. But in future years we could be telling our children the same thing about seafood. Among the many health benefits of seafood consumption, one presently being researched is age-related macular degeneration (AMD). A leading cause of blindness in the elderly–particularly among women–AMD is associated with a decrease in the optical density of the macular pigment of the eye.
That optical density has been shown to be influenced by a number of factors, one of which is docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 fatty acid found in coldwater marine fish such as tuna, salmon and herring.
Carol Lammi-Keefe, professor in human nutrition and food at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, La., has long been interested in the notion that fish is brain food and has written extensively about functional food in pregnancy and its benefits to infant development.
“Today we know that our grandmothers and their old wives’ tales about fish’s healthy attributes were right on target,” she says. “Fish, especially fatty fish from cold marine waters, contains fats important to the development of the brain. Recent research has demonstrated that women who consume the fats of these fish during pregnancy have babies who see better and are better able to problem solve.”
While there are several studies that examine the relationship between omega-3 fatty acid consumption and the optical density of the macular pigment, what distinguishes Lammi-Keefe’s work is her focus on pregnant women. “We know that DHA is important for everyone, but what we’re particularly interested in is why women are at higher risk than men,” she says.
“We’re looking at pregnancy as a lifestyle choice that may explain that higher risk of AMD in women. Maternal stores of DHA are depleted as it is transferred across the placenta, and pregnant women tend to consume dietary amounts of DHA that are less than the 200-mg-per-day recommended amount. Depletion, coupled with low consumption, potentially puts the woman at risk for insufficient DHA for her own health,” she says. “We posed the question: Is macular pigment optical density (MPOD) decreased during pregnancy?”
Starting a year ago, Lammi-Keefe and her team began measuring MPOD using a macular metrics densitometer for 22 women at various stages of pregnancy, collecting dietary information by using repeated food frequency questionnaires. They found that women who consumed a prenatal supplement containing DHA during the third trimester tended to have a higher MPOD than those not using a supplement.
“We concluded that seafood as a source of DHA, and dietary carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin were associated with increased MPOD during pregnancy, and that prenatal supplements with DHA/fish oil may be important to maintaining MPOD during pregnancy,” she says.
One of her graduate students is doing an intervention study where pregnant participants are provided with canned salmon and canned tuna, and asked to consume a certain quantity of fish meals each week.
“We’re trying to see how those meals in particular relate to the macular pigment,” Lammi-Keefe says. “What we have to date is good pilot or preliminary data with which to seek funding and propose an intervention study on pregnant women, but a larger sample size is necessary.”
That study would take several years to complete, but should the results be comparable to the ones she has obtained to date, there are almost certainly long-term implications for DHA consumption and AMD prevention.
“Already, pregnant women are being advised to consume omega-3s for the health of the infant,” she says. “It’s possible they should be consuming even more omega-3s, or continuing to consume it after pregnancy so they will have a protection against age-related macular degeneration.”
Nutrition’s Potential To Save Sight.
Article From: NewsRx Science
Article Date: July 18, 2010
While 20/20 vision is a symbol of visual acuity, between now and the year 2020, more and more people will experience some extent of vision loss due to age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and other sight-robbing diseases.
Now, Agricultural Research Service (ARS)-funded scientists at the Laboratory for Nutrition and Vision Research are finding that healthy eating can reduce not only health care costs, but also the decline of quality of life due to these diseases. The laboratory, directed by Allen Taylor, is part of the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston, Mass.
One study indicated that regularly consuming a combination of protective nutrients and a low-glycemic-index, or “slow carb,” diet provided an AMD protective effect. A food’s glycemic index is an indicator of how fast the carbohydrate it contains will spike blood sugar levels. The macula is a 3-millimeter-wide yellow spot near the center of the retina responsible for the central field of vision.
For the study, the researchers analyzed dietary intake and other data from more than 4,000 men and women, aged 55 to 80, who had participated in the long-term Age-Related Eye Disease Study, or AREDS. Led by Chung-Jung Chiu, the researchers ranked intake of each of several nutrients consumed during the AREDS study, then calculated a compound score to gauge their combined dietary effect on the risk of AMD. The scoring system allowed them to evaluate associations between individual-and combined-dietary nutrients.
The nutrients that were found to be most protective in combination with the low-glycemic-index diet were vitamins C and E, zinc, lutein, zeaxanthin, and the omega-3 fatty acids known as DHA and EPA. The 2009 study was published in Ophthalmology.
Eating Right Can Help Protect Your Eyesight.
Article From: Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL)
Article Date: July 5, 2010
in our aging nation, it’s not surprising that age-related deteriorating eye conditions are increasing. From birth, our eyes filter light — from sunlight to the more damaging blue light with detrimental effects over time.
Age-related macular degeneration, a disease associated with aging that gradually destroys one’s central vision, is the largest cause of vision loss in the U.S., affecting 5 percent of people aged 65 and older. AMD is debilitating; it can obstruct your ability to see the details of someone’s face, or read a book or road sign. And once AMD progresses, there’s no turning back.
According to the National Eye Institute, the greatest risk factor for AMD is age (over age 60), followed by smoking, obesity, race (Caucasians are more prone than African-Americans), family history (an immediate relative with AMD) and gender (women are more susceptible than men). But AMD is preventable.
Eating wisely can be a protective salve for your eyes. New research suggests that key foods and nutrients might be a simple, inexpensive treatment option to help protect vision.
The Age-Related Eye Disease Study, a 2001 clinical trial led by researchers at the Tufts University Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center for Aging, shed light on nutrients that fend off vision loss from advanced AMD. The study found that in 3,640 people with intermediate signs of AMD, high doses of zinc oxide, copper and the antioxidants vitamin C, vitamin E and beta-carotene (vitamin A) significantly reduced the risk for developing advanced AMD.
The next generation study, scheduled for completion in 2012, looks at naturally occurring plant pigments lutein and zeaxanthin, plus the omega-3 fatty acids.
Kale and spinach are high in two of those eye-protective carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin. Yellow foods like corn and egg yolks also contain high levels. (Hens eat carotenoid-rich corn and marigold petals and pass those nutrients into their eggs’ yolks.)
Eye health experts advise people to consume at least six milligrams per day of lutein and zeaxanthin from foods to reduce the risk of AMD and cataract formation.
Researchers have also homed in on omega-3 fatty acids for potential eye health benefits. Omega-3 fatty acids’ powerful anti-inflammatory properties hold promise for fending off eye diseases like AMD, which is believed to be rooted in inflammation.
Daily dose of nutrients could save your sight.
Article Date: July 2, 2010
Article From: Asian News International
Washington, July 2 (ANI): Regular healthy eating could not only cut health care costs, but also prevent vision loss due to age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and other sight-robbing diseases.
Agricultural Research Service (ARS)-funded scientists at the Laboratory for Nutrition and Vision Research have found that
A food’s glycemic index is an indicator of how fast the carbohydrate it contains will spike blood sugar levels.
The macula is a 3-millimeter-wide yellow spot near the center of the retina responsible for the central field of vision.
For the study, researchers at Tufts University in Boston, Mass., the researchers analysed dietary intake and other data from more than 4,000 men and women, aged 55 to 80, who had participated in the long-term Age-Related Eye Disease Study, or AREDS.
Led by Chung-Jung Chiu, the researchers ranked intake of each of several nutrients consumed during the AREDS study, then calculated a compound score to gauge their combined dietary effect on the risk of AMD.
The scoring system allowed them to evaluate associations between individual-and combined-dietary nutrients.
The nutrients that were found to be most protective in combination with the low-glycemic-index diet were vitamins C and E, zinc, lutein, zeaxanthin, and the omega-3 fatty acids known as DHA and EPA.
Foods in focus: eat for your eyesight.
Article from: Environmental Nutrition
Article date: May 1, 2010
Author: Retelny, Victoria Shanta
In our aging nation, it is not surprising that age-related deteriorating eye conditions are increasing. From birth, our eyes filter light–from sunlight to the more damaging blue light (light waves that make the sky look blue) with detrimental effects over time. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a disease associated with aging that gradually destroys one’s central vision, is the largest cause of vision loss in the U.S., affecting five percent of people aged 65 and older. AMD is debilitating; it can obstruct your ability to see the details of someone’s face, or read a book or road sign. And once AMD progresses, there’s no turning back.
Eye health is contingent upon multiple factors. According to the National Eye Institute (NEI), the greatest risk factor for AMD is age (over age 60), followed by smoking, obesity, race (Caucasians are more prone than African-Americans), family history (an immediate relative with AMD), and gender (women are more susceptible than men). But AMD is preventable. Just like your skin, your eyes need “sunscreen,” too. Eating wisely can be a protective salve for your eyes. New research suggests that key foods and nutrients might be a simple, inexpensive treatment option to help protect vision.
Enter the Age-Related Eye Disease Study. The last two decades of research have generated vital data on eye health and nutrition. Specifically, the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS), a 2001 clinical trial led by researchers at the Tufts University Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center for Aging, shed light on nutrients that fend off vision loss from advanced AMD. AREDS found that in 3,640 people with intermediate signs of AMD, high doses of zinc oxide, copper (to balance out zinc supplementation), and the antioxidants vitamin C, vitamin E and beta-carotene (vitamin A) significantly reduced the risk for developing advanced AMD. In fact, high potency antioxidant and/or zinc supplementation taken daily reduced the risk of advanced AMD by 25 percent, according to the study findings, published in the Archives of Ophthalmology in December 2003. Scientists believe that one explanation for the benefits behind the antioxidant formulation might be the reduction of oxidative stress.
The next generation study, AREDS2 (scheduled for completion in 2012), takes the formula a step further by adding the carotenoids (naturally-occurring plant pigments) lutein and zeaxanthin, and/or the omega-3 fatty acids, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) to the AREDS formula to see if it slows the progression of AMD among 4,000 participants aged 50 to 85 years. In addition, the study will look at the effects of eliminating beta-carotene and reducing zinc in the original AREDS supplement.
“AMD is a complicated scenario. The interaction of a number of genes and lifestyle factors may come into play,” explains Emily Chew, M.D., Deputy Director, Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Applications at NEI. “AREDS2 is looking at people who are already at high-risk for advanced AMD and evaluating whether high dose supplementation of lutein and zeaxanthin or omega-3 fatty acids is beneficial. If not, why use it?”
Colorful carotenoids for eye health. Looking for another reason to eat leafy greens like kale and spinach? These vegetables are high in two eye-protective carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin, which earned the attention of AREDS2 researchers. Yellow foods like corn and egg yolks also contain high levels. (Hens eat carotenoid-rich corn and marigold petals and pass those nutrients into their eggs’ yolks.) Deposits of these carotenoids form the macular pigment in your eye’s retina. According to research in the July 2006 Journal of Nutrition, macular pigment may reduce oxidation and free-radical damage in the central retina by absorbing harmful wavelengths of light. That’s why eye health experts advise people to consume at least six milligrams (mg) per day of lutein and zeaxanthin from foods to reduce the risk of AMD and cataract formation (see chart). The AREDS2 supplement contains 10 mg of lutein and two mg of zeaxanthin.
Eying omega-3 fatty acids. Researchers have also homed in on omega-3 fatty acids for potential eye health benefits. DHA is largely present in the eye’s retina. And, omega-3 fatty acids’ powerful anti inflammatory properties hold promise for fending off eye diseases like AMD, which is believed to be rooted in inflammation. In the December 2009 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers followed 1,837 AREDS participants with moderate to high risk for AMD, concluding that those who consumed the most omega-3 fatty acids (primarily from fish and seafood) were 30 percent less likely to progress to advanced AMD. This explains why AREDS2 is examining the potential for 1,000 mg per day of the omega-3 fatty acids, DHA and EPA to halt the progression of AMD.
The NEI recommends AREDS supplementation as the standard of care for people at high risk of developing advanced AMD, administered under the supervision of their medical or eye care professional. AREDS provided daily supplementation of: 452 milligrams (mg) vitamin C; 400 International Units (IU) vitamin E; 28,640 IU vitamin A (from beta-carotene); 69.6 mg zinc; and 1.6 mg copper. AREDS2 supplements include an additional: 10 mg lutein+2 mg zeaxanthin; and 1,000 mg EPA+DHA. Before you think about taking eye health supplements, keep in mind that these are specifically recommended for people at high risk of advanced AMD. As with all dietary supplements, you should discuss the dosage and potential benefits and risks with your health care professional.
Create a visually stimulating plate with the following foods:
- FoodLutein+Zeaxanthin
- Beet greens, cooked, 1 c. 26.2 mg
- Brussels sprouts, cooked, 1 c.23.9 mg
- Collard greens, cooked, 1 c. 14.6 mg
- Egg yolk, 1 |g.0.2 mg
- Kale, cooked, 1 c.23.7 mg
- Spinach, cooked, 1 c. 20.3 mg
- Turnip greens, cooked, 1 c. 12.1 mg
Note: Carotenoids are best absorbed in the presence of fat. Try
- sauteing dark, leafy greens in olive oil or tossing salads with
- oil-based dressings. The fat in egg yolks makes the lutein and
- zeaxanthin highly bioavailable to the eyes.
Here are the “Best of the Best” seafood selections that provide an average of at least 250 milligrams of omega-3 fatty acids per day (based on eating eight ounces of the selected fish per week), contain low levels of contaminants, and are classified as eco-friendly by Seafood Watch.
- Albacore Tuna (troll- or pole-caught, U.S. or British Columbia)
- Freshwater Coho Salmon (farmed in tank systems, U.S.)
- Mussels (farmed)
- Oysters (farmed)
- Pacific Sardines (wild-caught)
- Pink Shrimp (wild-caught, Oregon)
- Rainbow Trout (farmed)
- Salmon (wild-caught, Alaska)
- Spot Prawns (wild-caught, British Columbia)
