Having excellent eyesight free from vision problems is an important part of health & wellness. One of the most prevalent eye problem as we age is macular degeneration,10 million people which is even more than cataracts and glaucoma combined. Macular degeneration is when the back of your eye, which is the macular part is damaged as in the image above. They’re 2 types of macular degeneration wet & dry. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology 80% of people get the dry type.
A way to monitor if you have macular degeneration is with this test called the Amsler Grid.Its very quick and easy to do, follow these steps:
Step 1: In good light, look at the grid from about 12–15 inches away. Wear your reading glasses if you normally use them.
Step 2: Cover one eye. Look directly at the dot in the center of the grid with your uncovered eye. Notice if any of the lines look bent or wavy or if any part of the grid looks blurry, dim, or out of shape.
Step 3: Do the same on the other eye
If you notice that any lines or parts of the grid look wavy, blurry, or dim, Call your ophthalmologist and make an apointment right away.
Besides checking in with the eye doctor annually we can also help maintain our eye health with what we eat and taking supplements. The go to supplements for eye health are Lutein & Zeaxanthin.
Lutein is an antioxidant found in our brain, skin and back of our eyes.Its a natural plant-based ingredient made from marigold flowers.Our body doesn’t produce lutein so we have to get it from the food we eat or supplements, to get an idea you would have to eat 3 cups of spinach to get 10mg of FloraGlo lutein. Zeaxanthin is also sourced from marigold and once ingested zeaxanthin is drawn to the eyes retina to protect eye cells from the harmful effects of certain light sources, such as the sun.
It is important to ingest fatty foods when taking lutein & zeaxanthin to help improve absorption. Below are some supplements as a stand alone for vegetarians just eat fatty foods with them and a product with Omega 3 fish oil added.
FlorGlo Lutein + Optisharp Zeaxanthin Supplements
Dr Best Natural Vision Enhancer that contains Omega 3 and 20mg Floraglo lutein & 4 mg of Optisharp Zeaxanthin per 2 softgels: https://amzn.to/3e7TC76
Pure Encapsulations Lutein/Zeaxanthin that contains 10mg FloraGlo lutein & 2mg Zeaxanthin per 1 capsule: https://amzn.to/3aSPOEE
Lutemax 2020 Lutein+Zeaxanthin Supplements
Dr Best Lutein with Lutemax 2020 softgel that contains the 20mg lutein 4mg zeaxanthin per each softgel: https://amzn.to/3teX3gt
Carlson Super DHA Plus Lutien that contain Omega 3 plus 20mg lutein and 4mg zeaxanthin from Lutemax 2020 per softgel: https://amzn.to/2SnZlgV
1. American Academy of Ophthalmology: What Is Macular Degeneration? https://www.aao.org/eye-health/diseases/amd-macular-degeneration
2. Oily fish consumption, dietary DHA and EPA intakes, and associations with neovascular age-related macular degeneration: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18689376/
3. Prospective study of dietary fat and the risk of age-related macular degeneration: https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/73.2.209
4. Sleep Disrupting High-Energy Blue Light: Digital Screens and Other Light Sources: https://omniactives.com/sleep-disrupting-high-energy-blue-light-digital-screens-and-other-light-sources/