Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of Vision loss in the United States. AMD is a progressive disease that affects the macula: the area of the eye that’s responsible for central vision.
As usual: what you eats affects your health, so eat healthy!
In 2001, a large clinical trial - the Age-Related Eye Disease Study - reported that a supplement containing high doses of zinc and the antioxidants beta carotene, vitamin C, and vitamin E slowed the progression of AMD by 25% in people who had advanced disease.
One study suggests that eating a diet chock-full of these same nutrients might actually help prevent it.
Dutch investigators tracked:
- the dietary intake,
- supplement use, and
- eye health…
… of 4,170 people age 55 or over
The conducted the study for an average of eight years.
At the start of the study, none of the subjects had AMD.
By the end, 560 had developed the disease.
The researchers found that an above average food intake of:
- beta carotene,
- vitamin C,
- vitamin E, and
- zinc…
… was associated with a 35% reduced risk of AMD.
Subjects with lower-than-average intakes had a 20% higher risk. Antioxidants in supplements showed little effect (Journal of the American Medical Association, Dec 28,2005).
Eat healthy to stay healthy!
What to do?
Eat a wide variety of foods rather than trying to hunt down especially antioxidant-rich ones.
We don’t know enough yet about how antioxidants work to justify eating large amounts of particular foods.
It may be that the interactions of foods in the overall diet are more important.
Also, if your diet emphasizes fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, you’ll be getting plenty of beta carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, and zinc, as well as lutein and zeaxanthin, which are thought to help protect the eye.
Zinc is also found in oysters, meats, and dairy products.
I repeat:
It may be that the interactions of foods in the overall diet are more important.
So don’t get an over scientific approach to what you eat:
make sure what you eat has a lot of variety
(that’s why recipe websites are for…).
Try to get as healthy as possible ingredients!
Although organic food is more expensive than "normal" food, at the end of the day:
- a lower bill for medications will be the benefit of eating healthy food!
- most important benefit : a good health and a longer healthy life!
JAMIE OLIVER recipes
A dumpling is glutinous rice with “goodies” artfully folded inside banana leaves. The goodies can vary and the cook in the picture shows a plate with the ingredients that goes into his dumplings.
The dumpling in the picture contains glutinous rice, mushrooms, shrimps, roasted duck and pork, salted egg, chestnuts and green split peas. “A good ‘bak chang’ must be aromatic, have a smooth and springy texture and be made of good quality fresh ingredients,” said Chong.
