Hope for healthier eyes found in healthy oil

The nutrient 'vaccine' that protects your sight

My friend from church has always had perfect vision... he never even wore glasses. But about three months ago, he noticed the pages in his choir book were starting to look blurry.

He was concerned, so he made an appointment with an optometrist. He found out he was suffering from age-related macular degeneration, or AMD.

If you are like many people, you probably don't know a lot about the condition or understand what is going on inside your eyes.

What is AMD? 

AMD is a leading cause of vision loss in people over the age of 50.

It causes damage to the macula, a small spot near the center of the retina and the part of your eye needed for sharp, central vision.

As AMD progresses, it damages then destroys your central vision. AMD by itself does not lead to complete blindness, with no ability to see. However, the loss of central vision in AMD can interfere with simple everyday activities, like your ability to see faces, drive, read, write or do close work, such as cooking or fixing things around your house. 

Hope for healthier eyes found in healthy oil

A team of LSU Health New Orleans scientists found that a component of fish oil not only protects cells critical to vision from initial damage, but also shores them up to protect them from future assaults that can cause damage, too.

Their study showed that the omega-3 fatty acid, DHA, and its derivatives "precondition" photoreceptor and retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells to survive.

In other words, in their study, the DHA in fish oil can shield cells attacked by AMD in much the same way a vaccine is supposed to work.

This means that taking fish oil regularly could be an important part of eye health. I feel it's such an important part of health in general that I take Peak Super Mega3^™ daily.

Other supplements and vitamins for macular degeneration 

In addition to fish oil, there are a number of other supplements you can take to help stave off macular degeneration.

Researchers at the National Eye Institute tested whether taking nutritional supplements could protect against AMD in the Age-Related Eye Disease Studies (AREDS and AREDS2). Here are the ones that they found worked:

• 500 mg of vitamin C
• 400 IUs of vitamin E
• 10 mg of lutein
• 2 mg of zeaxanthin
• 80 mg of zinc
• 2 mg of copper