Blog > Foods to Prevent Vision Loss during AMD Awareness Month

Foods to Prevent Vision Loss during AMD Awareness Month

February is national Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and low vision awareness month. Affecting 1.6 million Americans, age-related macular degeneration is the leading cause of low vision and blindness in people 60 years old and older.

The good news is that there are a lot of wonderful and delicious foods in the world that can contribute to good eye health and help reduce the chances of your parent getting AMD or reduce the seriousness of the disease if she already has been diagnosed with AMD.

Senior Care Thompsons Station TN - Foods to Prevent Vision Loss during AMD Awareness Month — Senior Care Thompsons Station TN – Foods to Prevent Vision Loss during AMD Awareness Month

Here are some of the top foods you should look at adding into your parent’s diet this February (and beyond!) as you celebrate AMD Awareness Month.

Dark Green, Leafy Vegetables

Vegetables such as collard greens, spinach and kale are chock-full of Vitamin C and E. They also have some plant-based forms of Vitamin A that are known to reduce the risk long-term eye diseases such as AMD, as well as cataracts.

Raw Red Peppers

Red peppers have the largest amount of Vitamin C per calorie. Vitamin C is good for the blood vessels in the eyes, keeping them healthy. Encourage your parent to enjoy red peppers raw to get the most benefit since heat tends to break down Vitamin C. Have your senior care provider clean, slice up the red peppers and put them in the fridge for future use after they’re purchased. Your parent can them snack on them with a little dip or quickly throw them into scrambled eggs or a salad for a meal.

Sunflower Seeds and Nuts

Just an ounce a day provides 50% of the body’s daily need for Vitamin E. Vitamin E can slow AMD from getting any worse. These can be a great, healthy snack for your parent.

Oily Fish such as Salmon, Tuna and Trout

These fish are packed with two Omega-3 fatty acids needed for good eye health – DHA and EPA. Low levels of these Omega-3s has been shown to have a correlation to dry eyes, which can aggravate AMD. While fresh is always best, there are also healthy varieties of frozen and canned fish that can be purchased.

Orange Vegetables and Fruits

That adage that carrots help you see at night is true. Carrots, sweet potatoes, and orange fruits such as apricots and mangos are high in beta-carotene, a form of Vitamin A that improves night vision and your parent’s eyes’ ability to adjust to light levels changing.

Lean Meat and Poultry

High in Zinc, meats such as beef, chicken and pork (and even some seafood like oysters), are great foods to consume to enjoy better eye health. Zinc brings Vitamin A from the liver to the eyes to make the protective pigment melanin.

Eggs

Both the white and the yolk of the egg help protect the eyes. An egg’s zinc will help your parent’s body use the lutein and zeaxanthin from its yolk. The yellow-orange color of these compounds blocks harmful blue light from damaging your parent’s retina and will increase the amount of protective pigment in the macula, where AMD often strikes.

Have someone like yourself or your senior care provider help your parent create a shopping list in February that includes an ingredient from each of these areas. Having the right foods on hand is the first step in consuming them and helping your parent enjoy better eye health.

Source: https://www.webmd.com/eye-health/ss/slideshow-eyes-sight-foods