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Nutrition For Eye Health

by Guest Blogger
written by Guest Blogger

Aging has a significant impact on your eye health. The health of your eyes and the quality of your vision both deteriorate as you age. Common age-related eye diseases include cataracts, glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration.

While problems with eye health naturally come with old age, there is an easy yet effective way to prevent age-related eye diseases and keep your eyes in excellent condition.

The answer to age-related eye problems is nutrition.

Nutrition: keeping your eyes healthy from within

Eye health is crucial for everyone, especially if you’re a senior. After all, you need your eyes to perform a wide variety of tasks. You use your eyes to cross the street, to shop for groceries, and even to read your favorite book at night.

When most people consider eye health, though, they only think about external care. Seniors likely get regular eye check-ups, wear sunglasses when they’re outdoors during the day, and wear prescription contact lenses or eyeglasses if necessary.

External care plays a vital role in eye health, and wearing sunglasses outdoors or wearing prescription eyewear is important. However, taking these precautions isn’t enough.

For peak eye health, you also need internal eye care. To ensure the health of your eyes and keep your vision sharp and clear, you need to consume healthy foods so that you’re getting the nutrients that your eyes require.

The effect of proper nutrition on eye health

It may not seem like it, but the nutrients that you get from the food you eat have a considerable impact on your eye health. You can prevent age-related eye diseases by consuming specific vitamins and minerals. Doing so can mean the difference between still having clear vision at 60 years old and developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

The nutrients that your eyes need

To prevent degenerative eye disorders and maintain the health of your eyes, you need to consume foods that contain the following vitamins and minerals.

Vitamin A

Vitamin A is one of, if not the, most essential vitamins for your eyes.

Vitamin A is a group of fat-soluble compounds known as retinoids. Contrary to what its name suggests, vitamin A isn’t a single vitamin.

There are two vitamin-A compounds that are beneficial to your eye health: 1) preformed vitamin A (retinol) and provitamin A carotenoids (beta carotene). These two compounds help keep your eyes healthy by preventing oxidative stress and night blindness.

You can find these two compounds in certain foods, but you can only find beta carotene in fruits and vegetables.

Foods rich in vitamin A include:

  • Carrots
  • Mangoes
  • Cantaloupes
  • Sweet potatoes

Vitamin C

Your eyes need vitamin C because they contain significant amounts of the nutrient.

Your eyes produce a fluid called aqueous humor that uses vitamin C to carry nutrients to different parts of your eye and maintain pressure within your eye. Consuming enough vitamin C enables the aqueous humor to properly function.

Foods rich in vitamin C include:

  • Citrus fruits (oranges, limes, lemons)
  • Kiwi
  • Tomatoes
  • Berries
  • Bell peppers

Vitamin E

Like vitamin A, vitamin E isn’t a single compound but a group of fat-soluble compounds.

Vitamin E compounds are antioxidants that help in cell repair, and these antioxidants are critical for eye health. According to a study, consuming vitamin E daily can lower your risk of developing AMD by 25%.

Since your body is unable to produce its own vitamin E, the only way you can get vitamin E is through the consumption of foods that contain the nutrient.

Foods rich in vitamin E include:

  • Peanuts
  • Almonds
  • Pumpkin
  • Beet greens
  • Broccoli

Zinc

Zinc is a mineral that helps transport vitamin A from your liver to your retina for melanin production. Your eye color is directly related to the amount of melanin in your eyes. If you have brown eyes, that means you have a high amount of melanin in your eyes. Meanwhile, if you have blue eyes, that means you have less melanin in your eyes.

Melanin isn’t just for eye color, though. Melanin also protects your eyes from harmful UVA and UVB rays.

Similar to vitamin E, you can only get zinc by consuming foods rich in zinc.

Foods rich in zinc include:

  • Chickpeas
  • Beans
  • Lentils
  • Pine nuts
  • Cashews

Lutein and zeaxanthin

Lutein and zeaxanthin are two antioxidant compounds that protect your eyes from the damage caused by free radicals. Your eyes contain lutein and zeaxanthin in abundance, which means consuming foods rich in these two antioxidants is integral for eye health.

Foods rich in lutein and zeaxanthin include:

  • Kale
  • Spinach
  • Parsley
  • Pistachios
  • Green peas
  • Swiss chard

Conclusion

Eye health problems and vision deterioration are a natural part of aging, but there is a way to prevent degenerative eye disorders and keep your eyes healthy. By consuming foods that contain eye-friendly nutrients like vitamins A, C, and E, zinc, lutein, and zeaxanthin, you can keep your vision clear even in your senior years.

By Jericho Gonzoles

Jericho Gonzales is a Content Marketing Specialist at Lens.com. Writing is his passion, and he specializes in tech-based and consumer product-based writing. His other passions lie in the worlds of fantasy and science fiction. When he isn’t busy with wordcraft, he loves to immerse himself in those worlds through novels, video games, TV shows, or movies.

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Vision

Stress – A Strain on Eyesight

by Guest Blogger
written by Guest Blogger

“I am a little worried as my eyes seem to be getting worse. I’ve been under a tremendous amount of stress the past month,” shared a patient with macular degeneration. Anyone with a degenerative eye disease can relate and knows about the anxiety and stress vision loss creates. For those with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) the loss of one’s ability to see what’s straight ahead can mean the loss of a job, the loss of a driver’s license, difficulty reading and the inability to recognize a face. Concern over finances and the ability to live independently can promote feelings of depression, stress, and fear. As with many other eye diseases, when one is diagnosed with AMD, a sense of uncertainty and instability become new companions. When and how fast will my retinal disease progress and how will the vision loss impact my daily living are now real questions with few answers. The future seems less hopeful and the chartering of new unknown territory can rob people of their present joy.

Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)

The March 2017 issue of Optometry and Vision Science published an article called Measurement of Perceived Stress in Age-Related Macular Degeneration. A scale used to measure stress called the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) was used to evaluate the progression of vision loss from AMD and the patient’s perceived level of stress. 137 patients with macular degeneration at the Department of Ophthalmology at Ohio State University were given a 10 question test. Forty seven percent of those given the questionnaire were receiving anti-VEGF eye injections the day of the PSS evaluation. The study concluded that the PSS was an acceptable method of measuring perceived stress in patients with AMD.

Inflammation and Stress

Inflammation contributes to macular degeneration and stress contributes to inflammation. “Because AMD is an inflammatory disease, we are studying the link between inflammation, stress, and AMD treatment outcomes,” said Bradley E. Dougherty, OD, Ph.D., of the Ohio State University College of Optometry. “In the end, we hope to better understand how general well-being influences disease outcomes.”

Many different low vision centers, like the Chicago Lighthouse in Chicago, IL offer a variety of services for those with blindness and low vision, including the Bergman Institute for Psychological Support. They recognize an important component of living well with vision loss is learning how to cope and handle stress. Individual, group and family support is provided to address stress management with the help of staff psychologists. Learning to recognize stress and how to manage or minimize it may in fact be another way of helping your vision.

Leslie Degner, RN, BSN
www.WebRN-MacularDegeneration.com

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Vision

10 Magnifying Tips for those with Macular Degeneration

by Guest Blogger
written by Guest Blogger

Macular degeneration is the loss of central vision – it is not blindness but rather low vision.
Low vision means that a person’s vision cannot be corrected by prescription glasses or through any medical or surgical intervention. Magnifiers for macular degeneration are meant to make the most of one’s usable vision. Often people want to know what the best macular degeneration magnifier is. The answer is that there is no one magnifier that is going to meet all of one’s needs for magnification. The type of magnifier you select depends on what activity it will be used for. It may be used for quick spot reading of a label on a can or a lengthier read like a magazine article. Performing hobbies like sewing or working in your workshop require one kind of magnifier, while watching TV or a sporting event requires yet another type. In order to select the best magnifiers to meet your individual needs there are several factors to consider.

1. Understand that there is no one “best magnifier” for someone with macular degeneration. Different tasks will require different magnifiers. Expect to own and use several different magnifiers. Identifying the task you need help with, like reading a novel or checking a price tag, will determine the best match of a magnifier for that task.

2. You need to know the magnifying power that is best for you. By visiting a low vision center, you can get your vision evaluated and get recommendations specifically for you. A stronger magnifying power than what you need is not better. Ask your low vision specialist to make a recommendation as to which strength will be best for your visual needs.

3. Because there are so many magnifier options, choose to purchase from a place or company that offers the opportunity to try the magnifiers before buying or allows one to return them if they are not helpful. Using magnifiers takes some training and practice. By visiting a low vision center, you can get help in selecting the ones that are best for your needs and obtain training in their use.

4. If you have more light, you can often use a lower power magnifier. Consider lighted magnifiers to give you improved visual acuity and clearer vision.

5. Correct positioning of the magnifier to the reading material is necessary for clarity and focus.

6. The lower the magnifying power the larger the field of view. When words or fonts are smaller you can see more of the paragraph, page or sentence in the viewing area.

7. The higher the magnifying power the smaller the field of view. Less of the reading page, paragraph or sentence can be seen in the viewing area.

8. Consider the lens or screen size for optimal viewing. The larger the lens or screen size the bigger the viewing area. For example, a large computer screen or a large low vision CCTV screen means more of a page or picture can be displayed and seen on the screen.

9. Handheld and hands-free magnifiers serve very different purposes. Handheld magnifiers can be cumbersome when trying to read a novel but work great for quick checking ingredients on a can of soup. A hands-free magnifier allows one to comfortably read for a longer period of time or perform a hobby or task with your hands while still getting the benefits of a magnifier.

10. As your macular degeneration progresses your magnifying needs will change. You may find that the magnifying TV glasses that worked so well for you in the past now no longer give you the clarity and magnification for clear TV viewing. However, electronic magnifiers, like low vision CCTVs, allow you to adjust your magnification and contrast so that even though your vision changes, you can still get your vision needs met by the same device.

Decide first what task the magnifier will be used for – such as reading, watching TV, performing a hobby or for checking prices at the store. Then purchase a magnifier for that specific task. To learn more about magnifiers for macular degeneration and the different styles that are available click here.

Leslie Degner, RN, BSN
www.WebRN-MacularDegeneration.com

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Vision

Love at First Sight – How to See More with Macular Degeneration

by Guest Blogger
written by Guest Blogger

Do you remember a time when you caught sight of something that made your heart pound and your pulse race? Was it seeing your first love across a crowded school gymnasium or was it something as simple as a firework exploding on the Fourth of July? Something that we all love, but often take for granted is our vision. For some people with age-related macular degeneration, seeing the faces of their family and friends or being able to read a conversation heart on a piece of Valentine’s Day candy is impossible. That’s because macular degeneration is a progressive disease, which can lead to severe central vision blind spots in both eyes. February’s AMD Awareness Month is an opportune time to learn more about the onset and treatment of macular degeneration because there are new advancements in technology that can help you or someone you love potentially see something that they love.

The Macular Degeneration Experience

Imagine a lit picture frame holding an image of farm animals behind a fence. At first, a person with macular degeneration might see the entire picture, but the fence posts seem crooked or distorted. Those are early signs of macular degeneration, which affects over 15 million people in the United States (usually older adults).

Working with an ophthalmologist, there are many different treatment approaches for macular degeneration, such as glasses, vitamins, or regular injections. There are also low vision assistive devices that can enlarge and illuminate objects, making them easier to see. However, many people (about 2 million of those with the condition) will stop responding to these methods and their disease will progress to the point where they cannot see the fence or the animals. The picture might be completely blurred, or more likely, the image blocked entirely. It would be as if they tried to look through a lit picture frame with a black or shadowy image. With just fuzzy peripheral vision remaining, a person with progressing (or end-stage) macular degeneration will find it impossible to recognize faces, read, watch TV or complete daily tasks. But there’s hope and it’s not technology of tomorrow, but of today.

Technology Advancements for Treating Macular Degeneration

The CentraSight treatment program uses a tiny, pea-sized telescope implant to improve vision and quality of life. During an out-patient procedure, a corneal surgeon places the device in one-eye (usually the one with worse damage), leaving the other one untouched to preserve peripheral vision, which is essential for balance. The telescope works by enlarging images from the central vision and beaming them to an area of the eye undamaged by the disease. This allows the brain to process what a person is seeing.

The device is nearly impossible to see inside the eye; it looks like a shiny “glimmer” if you get very close. After a short recovery time, the person with the device learns how to use their new vision during regular occupational and low vision rehabilitative therapy. Practicing with a professional and at home, the person relearns how to see stationary and in-motion objects using specially designed exercises.

Available from treatment teams across the country, the Medicare-eligible device is for adults 65 years or older who meet specific eye health criteria and have no prior cataract surgery in the eye selected for implantation. The telescope implant is not a cure for end-stage AMD. As with any medical intervention, potential risks and complications exist with the telescope implant. Possible side effects include decreased vision or vision impairing corneal swelling. Individual results may vary.

What’s Next for Treating Macular Degeneration

Here’s some big news about the telescope implant: Researchers are trying to determine if the telescope implant can be swapped for an intraocular lens which is typically inserted during routine cataract surgery. So if you or a loved one has previous cataract surgery, but is also living with end-stage AMD where central vision is completely blocked, you may be eligible for this study. To learn more about the study call 877-997-4448 or visit: https://www.visioncareinc.net/clinical-trials

People with macular degeneration typically experience increased stress and depression as their vision diminishes.[i] What would it mean to your spouse, parent, or friend with macular degeneration if they could see something they love?

Visit www.CentraSight.comto learn more about the telescope implant.

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[i]Bennion, AE, Shaw, RL, Gibson, JM “What do we know about the experience of age related macular degeneration? A systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative research?” Social Science & Medicine. 75 (2012) 976-985.

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