National Eye Health Week: Five Fighting Foods for the Eyes

Eating a balanced diet containing the right vitamins and nutrition can assist in the maintenance of healthy vision. In essence professionals would recommend any food bright in colour to be ideal in battling against vision impairment. 

Carrots

We all remember the days when our parents would pester us to eat as many carrots as possible-well they were right to do so.  Hidden in those bright orange vegetables are beta carotenes - an antioxidant that helps reduce the risk of macular degeneration.  Simply adding carrots into salads and soups or making a dip out of them is an effortless way ensure an intake of high levels of vitamin A.

Tomatoes

The brightest fruit yet!! As well as its rich colour; the tomato is also rich in vitamin C and Iycopene, two important eye nutrients. What’s great about this fruit is that it can be used in almost every meal, either as a side salad or an ingredient to many dishes, therefore an easy nutrition for you to add to your diet.

Banquet of B’s

Broccoli, bell peppers and Brussels sprouts provide the best source of vitamin C. Vitamin C is another key antioxidant shown specifically to protect the eyes .  All it takes is a little time to stream or roast these veggies; to ensure you have the right vitamin C’s required in a complete diet.

Eggs

The most powerful food to contain the largest number of vitamins and nutrition’s comes in a form of an egg.  Eggs are an excellent sources of vitamin A, zinc, lutein, lecithin and vitamin D all significantly important eye nutrients.

Salmon

By no surprise fish is known to be rich in omega 3 fatty acids, which goes without saying is one of the most important foods for maintaining overall eye health. Research indicates that regularly eating foods high in omega-3 fats can help protect tiny blood vessels buried within the eyes. On occasions replacing a delicious fish as a substitute for meat, preferably 2 to 3-4 times a week can benefit your eyes as well as improve your general health. 

National Eye Health Week is this week!
For more information visit Vision Matters

National Eye Health Week: Five Ways to Fight off Blindness

Avoiding the one thing that comes naturally with age can leave you feeling helpless and full of anxiety. Deteriorating vision can have an impact in both your personal and social life, affecting not only everyday living but friends and family around you. Although Age-Related Macular Denegation has no medical cure, preventing the onset of vision impairment or blindness is possible by following some simple rules.

Eat Healthy

A healthy balanced diet containing a wide variety of fruit and vegetables can not only benefit your overall health, but may also help keep the retina healthy. Diets rich in lutein and zeaxanthin can help restore meso-zeaxanthin in the macula to help maintain a healthy eye.

Alcohol Consumption

Keeping tight guards on alcohol consumption is essential for general health, but even more important for AMD. Heavy alcohol consumption can be associated with an increased risk of early AMD, thereby restricting yourself to the recommended daily alcohol limits of 3-4 units for men and 2-3 units for women is crucial.

Stop Smoking

Smokers are four times more likely at risk of developing age-related macular degeneration compared to non-smokers. Past smokers are also three times at risk of suffering from severe loss of vision.

Get Moving

Surprisingly enough exercise can help with the maintenance of good sight.  Research suggests that regular exercise may reduce the risk of vision loss which can occur from high blood pressure, diabetes and narrowing or hardening of the arteries.

Protect the Eyes

Starring directly towards the sun can be extremely damaging to the eye - doing so can cause irreversible damage to your eye sight and possibly lead to blindness.  Additionally wearing sunglasses or wide brimmed hat can help protect your eyes from UV rays.

National Eye Health Week is this week!
For more information visit Vision Matters

National Eye Health Week: Five Facts of Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) Exposed

AMD is a progressive and chronic disease that has the potential to affect as many as 20 million people in the UK, it has already become the leading cause of vision loss in the developed world.  People suffering with AMD experience diminished central vision - vision generally used for seeing straight ahead and for performing common daily tasks such as reading and driving. In some cases AMD progresses slowly giving people the chance to notice the slight change in their vision, in others, the disease progresses rapidly possibly leading to blindness.

Types of AMD

There are two types of AMD - Wet and Dry. Wet AMD is the advanced stage of the disease and accounts for only 10% of AMD cases. The most common cases seen in the UK are those of Dry AMD, the early stage of the disease which occurs when the light sensitive cells in the macula slowly break down, gradually blurring central vision.

Risk factors of AMD

Risk factors of AMD consist of age, genetics, dietary and other environmental factors. The most obvious yet greatest risk factor is age: a person’s risk of developing AMD typically begins to rise after the age of 50. However people wearing glasses and showing signs of visual impairment may also be at a higher risk. Cigarette smokers also pose a significant risk for AMD.

Symptoms of Dry AMD

The most evident symptom of dry AMD is blurred vision. Another common sign that may appear less obvious is the presence of drusens - yellow deposits under the retina that may be debris from deteriorating tissue, yet no vision loss or problem is detected.

Impact of Dry AMD

AMD sufferers do not suffer alone.  Patients, families and society as a whole are impacted by the devastating effects AMD can cause.  The quality of life and the ability to perform simple daily activities can become difficult, resulting into stress and possibly the cause of social isolation. 

Dry AMD Treatment

Unfortunately while there is no proven medical treatment to cure Dry AMD per se, in such circumstances prevention is vital and can hinder any further progress of Dry AMD.  According to the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) -a specific high-dose formulation of antioxidant and zinc notably reduces the risk of advanced AMD and associated vision loss in some patients.  New research conducted indicates nutrients such as lutein, zeaxanthin and meso-zeaxanthin play a significant role in preventing AMD progression. 

National Eye Health Week Starts today...
For more information visit Vision Matters