Consume more omega-3s to protect your eyesight

Saturday, December 04, 2010 by: Jonathan Benson, staff writer
Tags: omega-3s, eyesight, health news

(NaturalNews) A new study published in the journal Ophthalmology confirms that omega-3 fatty acids help to maintain eye health and protect against age-related eye diseases like macular degeneration. Researchers from the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine observed that people who eat lots of fish and other seafood rich in omega-3s tend to have a much lower risk of developing eye disease than people who do not.

Over the course of a year, the research team evaluated the eating habits of 2,520 randomly-selected people between the ages of 65 and 84. They compared the participants' eating habits to rates of age-related macular degeneration and found that those who ate the least amount of omega-3 foods were most likely to have advanced macular degeneration (AMD).

A 2009 study published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology also identified a link between eating oily fish rich in omega-3s and a decreased risk of eye disease. In that study, those with early AMD who ate a diet rich in omega-3s experienced a 25 percent reduced risk of having the disease progress any further (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20630597).

"Both antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids can help protect your eyes and preserve your vision in a variety of ways," explains Jonny Bowden, PhD, CNS, in his book The Most Effective Natural Cures on Earth: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth about What Treatments Work and Why. "Oily fish -- and the omega-3 fatty acids found in them -- can help protect against macular degeneration."

Omega-3s serve a lot of other useful functions as well. They help prevent and treat heart disease, aging, diabetes, gum disease, obesity, depression, infertility, arthritis, and cancer, among many other things (https://www.naturalnews.com/omega-3.html).

Sources for this story include:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20630597

http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/la-heb-...