Age-Related Macular Degeneration – Eat Your Omega-3 Fatty Acids

June 11, 2008

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Recent findings suggest that eating foods high in omega-3 fatty acids may cut the risk of age-related macular degeneration by a third. Knowing a number of people with macular degeneration and the effects on their daily life, if I wasn’t eating foods high in omega-3 fatty acid, I certainly would start.

If you don’t know anybody with macular degeneration, you don’t know how it affects vision by either having the center of the visual field totally blurry and/or everything distorted and wavy. If you want to see what it commonly does to vision check out the excellent page from the National Eye Institute (NEI) and scroll down until you see two side-by-side images of what is seen with normal vision and with macular degeneration.

For humans our vision is one of our key senses. If you have had good eyesight until “maturity” then you have not developed the compensatory mechanisms and are no so adaptable. It makes life really difficult.

I was going to describe macular degeneration, and the wet and dry types in this post, but the NEI page does a better job than I would have done. Read the whole page.

A really good friend of mine developed wet macular degeneration in his early 50’s. I have seen how it has restricted his ability to do certain things. Reading is really tough and tiring, taking a lot of concentration, and certain fine tasks are impossible. He has to ask people to help with some things.

So eat your omega-3 fatty acids but don’t go mad. Moderate consumption of everything is the best.

Common good sources include fatty fish, ground flax seeds (whole seeds go straight through you, and if you have diverticulosis or diverticulitis may give you problems), nuts and kiwifruit.

Also get regular eye exams. Early diagnosis will slow the progression.

photo credit: LaurenHolloway