Losing your eyesight is no joke. It’s the fastest way to lose independence as you age… you’ll lose your driver’s license… have trouble getting around… things that were once easy will become a struggle.
And one of the most devastating eye conditions today is age-related macular degeneration, or AMD. It’s the leading cause of blindness in people over 60 years of age.
But AMD isn’t something that happens overnight. It takes years of damage to your macula.
Maybe you never wore protective sunglasses outside. Maybe you have an adrenal condition which prevents your pupils from shrinking as they should in bright light. And maybe you’ve never seen a carrot, tomato or colorful berry or pepper you were willing to eat.
When you are affected by AMD, the cells in your eyes will start to break down and your central vision will start to blur.
You’ll have a hard time seeing in dim light. And things right in front of you will start to look fuzzy and hazy.
If it progresses to the more advanced form of AMD, leaky blood vessels will start growing under the macula – resulting in a severe loss of central vision.
For this reason, I urge you to protect your macula now… before it’s too late. Because once you develop AMD, there is no cure.
Mediterranean Diet Protects Your Vision
One of the best ways to protect your eyesight is through the foods you eat. That’s why I take a trip to Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s grocery store every week to fill two or three bags with my favorite plant-based foods.
After all, Hippocrates said, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”
While no one diet is perfect for everyone, the number one diet I recommend with the most benefit for the most people is the Mediterranean way of eating.
It’s good for your heart, helps protect your brain against memory loss, is diabetes-friendly, and great for your waistline.
But I’ll bet you didn’t know eating like a Mediterranean can also cut your risk of AMD by more than one-third.
Why the magic?
Well, a Mediterranean diet is filled with antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables – loaded with vitamins A, C and E, along with protective carotenoids like lutein and zeaxanthin.
These antioxidants all work in synergy to protect your eyes. In particular, they work together to cut down on free radicals and inflammation that damage your macula.
Both free radicals and inflammation contribute to “drusens” – or deposits that occur when fats, proteins and cellular waste collect under your retina. And drusens greatly increase your chances of AMD.
So, if you want to feed your eyes, add more fresh fruits and veggies to your diet. And be sure to choose ones from the whole rainbow (the more colors the better!) Eye-friendly fruits include organic oranges, mangoes, cherries, cantaloupe and berries.
Then, give your eyes a boost with some dark leafy vegetables.
Organic kale, turnip greens, collards, spinach and chard can all boost your levels of lutein and zeaxanthin – the two most abundant antioxidants in your macula. Plus, higher levels of lutein and zeaxanthin protect against drusens and leaky blood vessels behind the macula.
Add in some tomatoes, rutabagas, squash, avocadoes, sweet potatoes and other veggies to boost levels of other plant-based antioxidants to support your peepers.
More Food for Your Starving Eyes
After you’ve raided the produce corner of the market, you’ll find more eye-saving nutrients in the meat department.
Omega-3-rich fish are another staple of the Mediterranean diet. In fact, people who eat the highest levels of fatty fish can cut their risk of AMD by about 30%. And other fish can slash your chances of developing late-stage AMD even further… by up to about 40%.
Some of the best sources of omega-3-rich fish include wild Alaskan salmon, halibut, mackerel, sardines and herring.
And finally, foods high in zinc are protective to your eye health, especially when combined with the antioxidants in the other foods we’ve talked about.
In the Mediterranean diet, zinc-rich foods include sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, lentils, cashews, and other seeds. However, meats – specifically grass-fed lamb – also contain zinc.
Taken all together, this makes a Mediterranean style diet the perfect way to protect your precious vision.
To be on the safe side, you can also supplement with a top-quality eye formula. And it should contain a heck of a lot more than a little lutein and zeaxanthin.
In addition to these two antioxidants, make sure it also includes zinc and omega-3 fatty acids along with other eye-supporting nutrients like vitamins A, C and E.
Remember, your eyes are your key to independence. Start safeguarding them now, so you can maintain your freedom and activity in the years to come.
SOURCES:
Fruit-Rich Mediterranean Diet with Antioxidants May Cut AMD Risk by More than a Third. News Release. American Academy of Ophthalmology. Oct 2016.
Anderson DH, et al. A role for local inflammation in the formation of drusen in the aging eye. Am J Ophthalmol. 2002 Sep;134(3):411-31.
Cho E, et al. Prospective study of intake of fruits, vegetables, vitamins, and carotenoids and risk of age-related maculopathy. Arch Ophthalmol. 2004 Jun;122(6):883-92.
Tan JS, et al. Dietary antioxidants and the long-term incidence of age-related macular degeneration: the Blue Mountains Eye Study. Ophthalmology. 2008 Feb;115(2):334-41.
Sangiovanni JP, et al. {omega}-3 Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid intake and 12-y incidence of neovascular age-related macular degeneration and central geographic atrophy: AREDS report 30, a prospective cohort study from the Age-Related Eye Disease Study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Dec;90(6):1601-7.
Merle B, et al. Dietary omega-3 fatty acids and the risk for age-related maculopathy: the Alienor Study. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2011 Jul 29;52(8):6004-11.
Rasmussen HM, et al. Nutrients for the aging eye. Clin Interv Aging. 2013; 8: 741–748.
Antioxidant Vitamins and Zinc Reduce Risk of Vision Loss from Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Clinical Advisory. National Eye Institute. Oct 2001.
