Macular degeneration, also known as AMD, is the leading cause of irreversible vision loss in older adults. Yet making changes to your diet can actually slow the development of AMD. Start a search today to learn more ways to keep AMD at bay.
There are many steps one can take to prevent the development of AMD, including making changes to your diet. By taking ownership over your dietary choices now, you can protect your eye health for the long haul!
1. Consume Lots of Healthy Greens
The darker the green, the better. For decades researchers have known that people who eat more vegetables full of carotenoids have a much, much lower risk of developing AMD than people who avoid these foods.
In fact, if you go all the way back to 1994, researcher published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) concluded that the people who eat the most vegetables dense in carotenoids had a 43-percent lower risk of getting macular degeneration.1
2. Eat Lots of Fish
Several studies have shown that eating fish on a regular basis can prevent macular degeneration. In fact, a study released by the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary revealed that older men who ate lots and lots of fish (at least two servings each week) cut their chances of getting AMD by about half.2 A similar study carried out by researchers at the University of Sydney showed similar results.
3. Get Moving
Just as it’s been shown that eating lots of green, leafy vegetables can reduce one’s chances of developing macular degeneration, a number of studies have revealed that regular exercise can keep AMD at bay.
Take, for example, a study of 4,000 adults carried out by British researchers.3 The researchers followed participants–whose ages ranged from 43 to 86–over a 15-year period.
4. Eat Lots of Fruit
They may not prevent macular degeneration as much as green, leafy vegetables, but eating fruits can also keep your eyes healthy over the long term. The best example of this may be a 2004 study by Harvard Medical School researchers that revealed that people who consumed at least three servings of fruit each day saw their chances of developing advanced macular degeneration decline dramatically.4
5. Go Nuts for Nuts
Several studies have shown that a diet rich in nuts–from pine nuts to cashews to peanuts–can help one prevent the development of macular degeneration.
Take, for example, the 2003 study by epidemiologists the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, which showed that people who ate nuts at least once per week cut their chances of getting advanced macular degeneration by 40-percent.5
