Eye Love Nutrition

A look into Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and Diet

By: Jessica Gunther
Could you imagine stumbling through life

daily activities like cooking or shopping. AMD

having difficulty reading, driving, or watching

is a progressive disease meaning that the

television because you cannot see properly?

persons vision with AMD gets worse over time.

Approximately, 15 million people in the United

States live like this due to having age-related

Test your eyes for AMD!

macular degeneration (AMD) (American Society

The Amsler grid is one diagnostic tool used to

of Retina Specialists, n.d.). Perhaps, you do too,

test for AMD. (Note: The test is not a substitute

or you know someone who does. AMD is the

for an eye exam. Have your eyes tested by your

leading cause of vision loss in the United States

eye doctor.)

for people over the age of 50 (National Eye

Institute [NEI], 2013). People who are most at

Instructions for the Amsler grid (below): Cover

risk are those who are over 60 years of age,

one eye with one hand and hold the grid about

those who smoke, those who are overweight,

14 inches away from you with the other hand.

and people with a family history of AMD.

Stare at the dot, not at the surrounding grid

Although there is no cure for AMD yet, dietary

pattern. In your peripheral vision, you will see

measures can be taken in order to decrease the

the grid. All the lines should look straight and

risk of AMD or slow the progression of the

not have any broken and missing areas. If there

disease. Diet is potentially one of the most cost-

are any crooked, broken, distorted, or missing

effective strategies to prevent the development

lines, please take note and go see an eye doctor

of AMD, the incidence of which is expected to

as soon as possible.

increase by 50% by 2030 in the United States

(Mares & Moeller, 2006, p. 733).
What is age-related macular degeneration
(AMD)?
AMD is an eye condition in which the macula is
damaged. The macula is located in the back of
the eye. Its job is to control sharp, central vision.
As a result, a person with AMD has a hard time
seeing things from the center of their vision, and
objects may seem distorted. They may have
trouble seeing peoples faces or doing simple,

What can you eat to keep your eyes healthy?

make a great side dish. A little bit of fat is

Research has found a connection between

needed to absorb the lutein and zeaxanthin

reducing the risk of or slowing the progression

(Denny, 2014). Therefore, a simple dressing with

of AMD with the intake of specific nutrients

olive oil and vinegar for the salad and sauting

such as lutein and zeaxanthin, vitamin E, vitamin

the vegetables in olive oil is a great way to

C, and omega-3 fatty acids (American

prepare these vegetables. It is beneficial to vary

Optometric Association [AOA], n.d. a). These

the way you prepare them so that you will not

nutrients can be obtained in your diet.

get bored or tired of eating leafy green

vegetables.

Lutein and zeaxanthin are important nutrients

known as antioxidants that are found in high

The good news is that high amounts of lutein

concentrations in the macula. They act like

and zeaxanthin are not just linked to leafy greens

sunscreen for the eyes by protecting the eyes

(Sommerburg, Keunen, & van Kuikik, 1998).

from harmful UV radiation from the sun. The

Other foods that also have high amounts of

AOA (n.d. b) recommends that people should

lutein and zeaxanthin are corn, broccoli, eggs,

get 10mg/day of lutein and 2 mg/day of

peas, red grapes, kiwi, oranges, and mangoes.

zeaxanthin. However, a study showed that

Eating a wide variety of vegetables and fruits are

American adults on average only consumed

a sure way to maintain healthy levels of lutein

about 1-2mg/day of lutein (Mares-Perlman,

and zeaxanthin.

Millen, Ficek, & Hankinson, 2002). It is very

important to maintain a healthy level of lutein

Other crucial nutrients for healthy eyes are

and zeaxanthin in your body in order to protect

vitamin E and vitamin C. These vitamins have

your eyes.

been shown to be healthy for your eyes because

of their role as antioxidants. Vitamin E can be

You can get lutein and zeaxanthin in your body

found in almonds, peanut butter, and sweet

by eating foods that have a high content of these

potatoes while vitamin C can be found orange

nutrients. The foods with the highest amount of

juice, grapefruits, and spinach.

lutein and zeaxanthin are green, leafy

vegetables, specifically, kale, spinach, turnip

Lastly, the final, important nutrient is omega-3

greens, Swiss chard, and collard greens. These

fatty acids. Omega-3 has been found to decrease

vegetables can be made into a quick, easy salad

the progression of AMD and can possibly

or can be sauted with other tasty ingredients to

decrease the risk of getting AMD (AOA, n.d. c).

Good sources of omega-3 fatty acids are fish like

There is no magical diet to eat in order to

salmon, tuna, and mackerel. You should try to

guarantee that you will not get AMD. It is also

eat them at least twice per week. If you do not

not guaranteed that eating the above foods will

eat fish, then walnuts and flaxseed are a good

prevent you from getting AMD. However, eating

alternative.

those foods mean that you will obtain many

nutrients that have been shown to be helpful to

Sample meals

combat the disease. In addition, these foods

To put these healthy eye foods to good use, here

provide a wide variety of other benefits.

are possible ways to prepare meals in order to

Hopefully, you now see the importance of

make sure you are getting the important

eating healthy! Go on and eat your way to

nutrients.

healthier eyes.

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with spinach

and a cup of orange juice

References

Lunch: Peanut butter sandwich and red

American Optometric Association. (n.d a). Age-

grapes

Related Macular Degeneration. Retrieved

Snack: Handful of almonds, mango or an

from http://www.aoa.org/patients-and-

orange

public/eye-and-vision-problems/glossary-

Dinner: Salmon, baked sweet potato, and

a kale salad

Try to come up with your own combinations and

be sure to personalize it with your favorite
foods!

of-eye-and-vision-conditions/maculardegeneration?sso=y
American Optometric Association. (n.d. b).
Lutein and Zeaxanthin. Retrieved from
http://www.aoa.org/patients-andpublic/caring-for-your-vision/lutein?sso=y.

What else can you do?

Eating healthy foods is not the only way to help
prevent the risk of AMD. It is also important not
to smoke. Smoking is known as one of the risk
factors for getting AMD. Furthermore, wear
sunglasses when outside to protect your eyes
from the UV rays from the sun. Finally, an eye
doctor should be seen regularly, at least once a
year, in order to get your eyes tested for AMD.

American Optometric Association. (n.d c).

Essential Fatty Acids Omega-3: DHA and
EPA. Retrieved from
https://www.aoa.org/patients-andpublic/caring-for-your-vision/essentialfatty-acids?sso=y
American Society of Retina Specialists. (n.d).
Age-Related Macular Degeneration.
Retrieved from

http://www.asrs.org/patients/retinal-

http://jn.nutrition.org/content/132/3/518S.lon

diseases/2/agerelated-macular-degeneration

g#ref-44

Denny, S. 2014. 5 Top Foods For Eye Health.

National Eye Institute. (2013). Facts about Age-

Retrieved from

Related Macular Degeneration. Retrieved

http://www.eatright.org/Public/content.aspx?

from

id=6442476270

https://www.nei.nih.gov/health/maculardege

Mares, J. , & Moeller, S. (2006). Diet and agerelated macular degeneration: Expanding our

n/armd_facts.asp.
Sommerburg, O. , Keunen, J. , Bird, A. , & van

view. The American Journal of Clinical

Kuijk, F. (1998). Fruits and vegetables that

Nutrition, 83(4), 733-734. Retrieved from

are sources for lutein and zeaxanthin: The

http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/83/4/733.full

macular pigment in human eyes. British

#ref-4

Journal of Ophthalmology, 82(8), 907-910.

Mares-Perlman, J. , Millen, A. , Ficek, T. , &

Retrieved from

Hankinson, S. (2002). The body of evidence

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P

to support a protective role for lutein and

MC1722697/pdf/v082p00907.pdf

zeaxanthin in delaying chronic disease.

overview.The Journal of Nutrition, 132(3),
518S. Retrieved from