Certain nutrition can help maintain vision and eye health

Because of the rapid aging population in the United States, more and more people are suffering from age- related eye problems and therefore, eye disease has become one of the major public health concerns today. Given the detrimental effects of age-related eye diseases, we need to understand the various factors that affect their presence. About 16 million people in the United States over age 45 report some vision loss. Studies show that nutrition plays an important role in lessening the risk of developing age-related eye problems. These days, many optometrists incorporate into their practices important areas that affect eye health, such as nutrition. Research has shown that nutrition can impact the development of cataracts and age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which are the two leading causes of blindness and visual impairment among the millions of aging Americans. Nutrition may be primarily important given that currently, treatment options after diagnosis for these eye conditions are inadequate. According to the National Eye Institute, results of nutrition and eye health food studies have shown that consuming certain foods provides ocular nutrition. There is no alternative for the quality of life good vision offers. Adding certain nutrients to our diet every day – either through foods or supplements – can help save our vision. In this presentation, the researchers will explain the importance of eye health nutrients such as carotenoids, lutein/zeaxanthin, vitamin C, vitamin E, essential fatty acids, lycopene, Omega 3 and zinc to reducing the risk of certain eye diseases.