Eye Health Problems Averted With This

Some very well designed and rigorous Australian research has found that to avoid eye health problems as you get older you'll want to be eating lots of fish, olive oil and nuts, while avoiding those tasty (but troublesome) trans fats.

What these foods all have in common is they contain healthy fats, and these are thought to reduce the risk for age related macular degeneration, known as AMD.

The University of Sydney researchers found those who ate a serving of fish each week were 31% less likely to develop early AMD than those who didn't eat fish.

A few servings of nuts per week cut the AMD risk by 35%.

A second team from the University of Melbourne found that those who consumed the most omaga-3 fatty acids were at 15% lower risk of the early stage of AMD. Those who ate at least 100 milliliters (7 tablespoons) of olive oil per week were about half as likely to develop late AMD as those who took in less than 1 mL each week.

Another important finding that came out of the Melbourne work was the role of trans fats.

Subjects who ate Trans fats regularly were 1.76 times more likely to develop late AMD during the follow up period of the study.

This isn't the first study to suggest that omega-3 fatty acids might help to safeguard vision.

Researchers from places as far flung as Iceland and the Netherlands, as well as U.S. scientist Paul SanGiovanni with the National Eye Institute in Maryland seem to agree that omega-3 fatty acids have an impact on AMD. He believes that the healthy fats might help protect against this age related eye disease by fighting inflammation.

When you understand the mechanics of the eye, it makes sense that omega-3 fatty acids would be helpful.

Both nervous tissue and the retina have high levels of these fatty acids, especially a very beneficial one called DHA (docosahexaenoic acid).

Moving beyond the observational work that's been done to date, San Giovanni has a clinical trial underway where subjects take omega-3 fatty acids, another compound or a placebo. Unfortunately, the results of this work won't be available for another four years.

If you're worried about AMD, or you have risk factors, what should you do?

"I recommend to my patients that they consume a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids and fish, especially salmon, sardines and mackerel, as well as nuts and green, leafy vegetables," says Johanna Seddon, M.D. ScM, of the New England Eye Center and Tufts University School of Medicine. "Those not able to consume these foods should consider taking supplements containing fish oil or lutein."

AMD is the top cause of blindness in those 65 and older. The only risk factors experts can point to for sure are a person's age, genetics, obesity and smoking history.

This disease slowly, almost imperceptibly and without pain destroys sharp central vision, the vision you need to see things clearly, as well as for daily tasks like reading, watching TV, recognizing faces and driving.

There are two forms of AMD, wet and the more common dry and the type determines the treatment used to preserve your sight.

Recent estimates suggest that 1.75 million people have advanced AMD, and another 7.3 million remain in the early stages of the disease. Right now, treatment for AMD is limited to the latter stages.

If you're concerned about AMD, or other eye health problems (like blurred vision) in your sight, visit your "eye doctor" at once.

Next just head on over to the Daily Health Bulletin for more information on how to avoid eye health problems, plus get 5 free fantastic health reports.