The thought of going blind is a terrible thought – and making it even worse is that conventional medicine has yet to crack the code of this particular disease called macular degeneration.  Macular degeneration can make it difficult or impossible to read, to drive, or even recognize faces.  The common “condition” is a blurriness in the center of vision, like a stain or a dark cloud that slowly progresses, leaving only enough peripheral vision to allow for limited activities of daily living.

 Although the disease sometimes affects younger people, the term usually refers to age-related macular degeneration (ARMD).  It is not caused by anything you do such as eye strains, too much TV or too much looking at the sun, or reading in dim light.  ARMD usually affects people age 50 and above, with much higher percentages after ages seventy to eighty.  According to the National Eye Institute, ARMD is the leading cause of blindness after age 40 and one out of every three people will eventually get it.

 There are actually two forms of macular degeneration.   The first of which is dry and which is also the milder form.  It is also the much more common version at close to 90% of all cases.  The wet version is much less frequent however the chance for severe sight loss is much greater.  The dry version has no treatment available, and while the wet version has only recently become treatable through various drugs that are given by injection with limited success and considerable expense, there is no fully proven method of or curing either form.

Now for the good news – - there are several inexpensive and readily available alternatives which can help prevent, slow down, or possibly even reverse this dreadful disease.  Even better news is that from this writer’s personal experience, as well as support information from large numbers of research studies, that the taking of “eye vitamins” has significantly improved my ability to read the printed matter – sans reading glasses.

 You might recall learning that part of the eye’s retina is a part called the macula.  It is this area that’s responsible for central vision, and a healthy macula has high concentrations of two carotenoids, lutein and a related compound called zeaxanthin.  Of the 600 or so carotenoids present in nature, only these two are present in the macula.

 These nutrients cannot be manufactured by the body and need to be constantly supplied from either supplements, skin care products, or consumed from foods such as spinach, kale, zucchini, carrots, corn and even egg yolks and canned tuna.  

Numerous studies have shown how powerfully effective lutein is when it comes to protecting your vision – providing nutritional support not only to our eyes but also to the skin by helping counteract free radical damage.  And per the editors of FC&A Medical Publishing, a study of 480 middle-aged men and women over 18 months found those who had the most lutein in their bloodstream had almost no increase in the thickness of their carotid (neck) arteries.  It signified that the bad LDL cholesterol had not oxidized inside them and formed the dangerous plaque that can lead to heart attacks.

Dr. Mark Grossman of the Integral Health Center advises “everyone over age 50, and even younger ages if someone in your family has experienced loss of sight in old age, should be taking lutein supplements.   Even if already experiencing macular degeneration or other vision problems, high lutein diets may help save your sight”.  These many studies have also shown how powerfully effective these nutrients are in not only protecting vision, but they may even reverse some of the damage if you already have the disease.

 Researchers suggest a minimum of 6-10 mg per day of lutein and 2-4 mg per day of zeaxanthin, and since most Americans don’t consume enough foods for either of these nutrients, you may want to permanently add this supplement to your dietary intake.  There are no known adverse health interactions with any medications however the surest way to learn about possible interactions is to consult your doctor before beginning such a regimen.

 And lest we omit reference to the “C” word, “a recent study showed that high-lutein diets were associated with a 17 percent decrease in colon cancer risk, and young people with a diet high in lutein had a 34 percent lower risk of colon cancer” – this per Dr. Mark Stengler, Natural Physicians Healing Therapies.

Note:  An excellent mail-order source for vitamin and herbal needs (superior quality and prices) is Swanson Health Products at 1-800-437-4148, for a free catalog and 24/7 service.  We have been using them for several years and will receive no consideration monetarily or otherwise for this recommendation.

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