Dr. Grossman’s Blog

In the first study, Jennifer S.L. Tan, MBBS, BE at the University of Sydney, Australia and her colleagues evaluated data from 2,454 participants in the Blue Mountains Eye Study of men and women aged 49 and older. Those who consumed one serving of fish per week were shown to have a 31 percent lower adjusted risk of developing early AMD compared with those who consumed less.

In the second article, Elaine W. T. Chong, MD, PhD, of the Centre for Eye Research Australia and her associates evaluated data from 6,734 men and women aged 58 to 69 who participated in the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study. Dietary questionnaires completed between 1990 and 1994 were analyzed for the intake of various foods and individual fatty acids. Follow up examinations conducted between 2003 and 2006 detected 2,872 cases of early age-related macular degeneration and 88 cases of late disease.

A high intake of trans-unsaturated fats was associated with a significant increase in late macular degeneration, with those whose intake was categorized as among the top 25 percent of participants having a 76 percent greater risk than those whose intake was among the lowest fourth.

Olive oil emerged as protective against late disease. When those who reported consuming at least 100 milliliters per week olive oil were compared with those who consumed less than 1 milliliter per week, they were found to have a 52 percent lower risk of late AMD.

For early AMD, those whose omega-3 fatty acid intake was among the top 25 percent had a 15 percent lower risk compared with those whose intake was among the lowest quarter.

For more information on nutrition and macular degeneration and related research studies, see NaturalEyeCare’s Section on Macular Degeneration.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of vision loss in aging Western populations.   A study measuring the benefits of lutein found that consuming lutein nutritional supplements improves visual function and symptoms in those suffering from AMD.

90 participants with AMD participated in a trial conducted at a midwestern Veterans Administration Hospital from August 1999 to May 2001.

For 12 months, patients in Group 1 received lutein supplements; in Group 2, a lutein plus an antioxidant/vitamin/mineral supplement; and in Group 3, a placebo.

Researchers found that participants in groups 1 and 2 displayed improvements in mean eye macular pigment optical density, visual acuity, and contrast sensitivity.  Patients who received the placebo had no significant changes in any of the measured findings.

The study authors concluded that visual function is improved with lutein alone or lutein together with other nutrients.

Lutein is a naturally occurring carotenoid, and is found in green leafy vegetables such as spinach and kale.

Learn more about lutein and other nutrients important for good eye health

Read more about macular degeneration (AMD)

SOURCE:  Double-masked, placebo-controlled, randomized trial of lutein and antioxidant supplementation in the intervention of atrophic age-related macular degeneration: the Veterans LAST study (Lutein Antioxidant Supplementation Trial), Stiles, et al, Optometry. 2004 Apr;75(4):216-30.