Dietary supplements can reduce risk of age-related macular degeneration
DEAR DOCTOR: Can lutein really help prevent, or treat, macular degeneration?
DEAR READER: Age-related macular degeneration, or AMD, is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in the elderly. It’s a progressive disease affecting the macula, the central portion of the retina involved with central vision. Changes linked to AMD generally begin after age 40, and rates of people with late stages of AMD are increasing.
Research has long suggested that diets high in lutein — an antioxidant related to beta-carotene and vitamin A — could reduce the risk of the disease. A special characteristic of lutein — and of another carotenoid, zeaxanthin — is that they accumulate in the retina
of the eye and help form retinal macular pigment. This pigment absorbs damaging blue and near-ultraviolet light and thus protects the macula from light injury.
A typical American diet contains 1 to 2 daily milligrams of lutein. It’s found in high amounts in spinach, kale, parsley and romaine lettuce. It is found in lesser amounts in pistachios, asparagus, broccoli, green beans and eggs. One interesting aspect of eggs is that the fat content of eggs allows for better absorption of both lutein and zeaxanthin. Also, cooking oils and oils in salad dressing can increase the absorption of dietary lutein and zeaxanthin.
Studies indicate that lutein is helpful in the diet, but in regard to the prevention of macular degeneration, there is thus far insufficient evidence that taking a lutein supplement makes a difference
for most people.
If you have been diagnosed with AMD or have a genetic susceptibility to the disease, you should boost your dietary intake of lutein and zeaxanthin by increasing the amount of spinach, kale, lettuce and eggs in your diet.
If you already have the early stages of macular degeneration, you should not only increase your dietary intake, you should consider supplements of both lutein and zeaxanthin.