Vitamin B Supplements Can Prevent Vision Loss in Older People
by Carla K. Johnson, Associated Press Writer - February 23, 2009
CHICAGO (AP) — Taking B vitamins can prevent a common type of vision loss in older men and women, according to the first rigorous study of its kind by the Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in people 65 and older, with nearly 2 million Americans in the advanced stage of the condition. It causes a layer of the eye to deteriorate, blurring the center of the field of vision and making it difficult to recognize faces, read, and drive. There is no cure, but laser therapy may be able to slow it down. Other than avoiding cigarette smoking, this study is the first firm proof from a randomized trial of a possible way to reduce early stages of AMD. Only women, 5,000 of them ages 40 and older at risk for cardiovascular disease, participated in the study. They took a combination of B vitamins (B-6, folic acid, and B-12). As a result they reduced their risk of macular degeneration by more than one-third after seven years compared to women taking dummy pills. As suspected the eye's small blood vessels respond better to B vitamin than the body's larger vessels. The researchers recommend food sources (as oppose to vitamin pills) for B vitamins and folic acid such as meat, poultry, fortified cereals, beans, nuts, leafy vegetables, spinach and peas. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-med-eyes-vitamins,0,5230780.story
Foods High in the Antioxidant Vitamin B-6
fruit- beans
poultry- breast of chicken
fish
fruit - bananas
fruit - watermelons
fruit - avocados
vegetable - peas
vegetable - leafy vegetables such as spinach
vegetable - potatoes
vegetable - carrots
fortified cereals
nuts
Foods High in Vitamin B-12
Mollusks, clam, mixed species, canned, drained solids 98 mcg
Lamb, variety meats and by-products, liver, raw 90 mcg
Lamb, variety meats and by-products, liver, cooked, pan-fried 85 mcg
Veal, variety meats and by-products, liver, cooked, braised 84 mcg
Beef, variety meats and by-products, liver, cooked, pan-fried 83 mcg
Lamb, variety meats and by-products, kidneys, cooked, braised 78 mcg
Lamb, variety meats and by-products, liver, cooked, braised 76 mcg
Veal, variety meats and by-products, liver, cooked, pan-fried 72 mcg
Moose, liver, braised (Alaska Native)
http://www.dietandfitnesstoday.com/nutritioncontentsorted.php?nutid=418
How to Improve Your Eyesight with Vision-Enhancing Foods
Your eyes need different essential nutrients that can be found in a healthy diet such as fruits and vegetables. They contain a number of essential nutrients that help ensure the health of your eyes. Carotenoids accumulate throughout the eye tissues and play important roles in trying to protect the eye tissues in the macula from significant damage done by free radicals. Carotenoids can be found in corn, leafy vegetables, red grapes, pumpkins, watermelon, apricots, papaya, guava, and tomatoes.
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/how-to-improve-your-eyesight-with-vision-enhancing-foods.html
The Carrot Myth
Do carrots improve your eyesight? The Royal Air Force started this rumor to cover up its use of night radar during WWII. While carrots are a source of beta-carotene, which is necessary for good eyesight (the liver changes it into vitamin A), chomping on lots of carrots won’t improve your vision. But some studies suggest that eating green leafy vegetables and other sources of beta carotene (not just carrots) may help reduce the early signs of age-related problems. However, recent research based on the Australian eye study has found no association between eating more antioxidants (including vitamin A) and reducing age-related eye problems. http://www.humanforsale.com/eyesight.asp
Fish Oil
Fish oil also helps to improve vision. The cells of your retina contain long chained fatty acids that it uses to maintain normal functioning. The most significant of these fatty acids found in the retina cells is DHA, a type of omega-3 fatty acid that can be found in fish oils. DHA may help enhance your visual perception as well as improve color perception and visual depth. Just taking a fish oil supplement everyday that contains essential omega-3 fatty acids may go a long way in helping you to improve your eyesight. Retinopathy afflicts millions of working-age adults with diabetes, as well as older people experiencing age-related degeneration. In an experiment mice, genetically manipulated to express the disease, were given doses of omega-3 fatty acids (present in common fish-oil supplements) while another group was fed omega-6 fatty acids (the bad fat found in meat). After an initial loss, vessels re-grew more quickly and efficiently in the omega-3-fed mice. The increased oxygen supply to the retinal tissue switched off the "alarm" signal that lead to pathological growth of vessels. http://www.bio-medicine.org/medicine-news/Eating-Fish-Oil-can-Save-Eyesight-3A-Study-22515-1/
Smokers Should Know About AMD.
Smokers are more prone to losing their eyesight later in life than non-smokers, says a British study. There are around 500,000 people in the UK with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Of these, an estimated 54,000 people have the condition as a result of smoking. A report by AMD Alliance UK, based on a survey of 1,023 British adults, reveals that only seven percent of people know that AMD affects the eyes. Smoking is the only proven cause of AMD that people can do anything about, yet people are not aware of the link and most people have not even heard of the condition. The message is simple - do not take up smoking, and if you do, stop. Yet government has not required warnings on cigarette packets about the risk of AMD nor is there a public awareness campaign on the dangers of smoking to eyesight in either the UK or the U.S. http://www.bio-medicine.org/medicine-news/Smokers-Face-The-Risk-Of-Becoming-Blind-In-Later-Life-4811-1/
Laser Therapy
Laser therapy and cryotherapy which burn or freeze the periphery of the retina have proven effective, but also destroy some side vision and may have other unknown long-term effects.
Drugs are Expensive – Do they Work?
Lucentis (ranibizumab) is the new drug which is claimed to be very effective in treating age-related macular degeneration (AMD). It is not been approved by the FDA and is already called the wonder drug. The drug can be replaced by Avastin (Bevacizumab) which has a very similar molecular structure. Lucentis can't repair the irreversible retina damage but prevents the blood-vessel leakage in the back of the eye that causes damage. The patients suffer from distorted, wavy vision, and eventually a gap in the center of their vision. In the trails session itself Lucentis was found to have improved the patient’s eyesight by at least three lines on a vision chart. The only disadvantage is that Lucentis will cost more than 100 times as much as the temporary fix. A dose of Avastin for the eye costs about $13 whereas Lucentis cost up to $3,000 for a single dose. Doctors will most likely turn to the more expensive drug. The problem is that Avastin has not been subjected to rigorous testing for AMD, and it would take Genentech years and huge amount of money to do those tests with Avastin. Megan Pace, spokeswoman for the company said that the cost factor would be taken care of by the company and hence patients need not worry about it.
http://www.bio-medicine.org/medicine-news/Latest-Drug-for-AMD--Beyond-The-Reach-Of-Common-Man-11795-1/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Ianneub/Lucentis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bevacizumab
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