EATING plenty of colourful fruit and vegetables and oily fish can help prevent potentially blinding age-related macular degeneration.
Create a free account to read this article
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Speaking in the lead-up to Macular Degeneration Awareness Week from May 24-30, Vision Eye Institute retinal specialist Devinder Chauhan urged people to eat for eye health.
He said like the rest of our bodies, the eyes required proper nutrition to function properly.
"As an ophthalmologist, I remind my patients that they can eat for sight, as well as for the health of their body," Dr Chauhan said.
"Look for colourful fruits and vegetables, but particularly orange or yellow.
"Berries such as blueberries and cranberries, and vegetables like yellow capsicum, pumpkin, sweet corn and squashes are all important for eye health."
Essential fatty acids and vitamins found in fats and oils are also a key.
"Vitamin E is rich in antioxidants and can be found in wheat germ, sunflower oil or cottonseed oil, as well as nuts such as hazelnuts and almonds," Dr Chauhan said.
"I recommend people eat fish and green and gold.
"This includes at least three servings of fish per week, including leafy greens and colourful vegetables, and adding two servings of fruits per day.
"Keep it varied, and don't be afraid to try new things <\#150> they say variety is the spice of life."
Diet should never be considered in isolation, and regular self-monitoring and optometric check-ups are still important, particularly for people over 65 or those with a history of macular degeneration.
How's your macula?
Could you be one of the 1.15 million Australians aged over 50 with evidence of macular degeneration? You can have early signs without knowing.
Risk factors include age (over 50), smoking, and those with a direct family history.
Sudden changes in vision should never be ignored.
For a free macular degeneration kit, including nutrition and lifestyle information, contact Macular Disease Foundation Australia, freecall 1800-111-709,
