You may be taking a regimen of vitamins and minerals to guard your wellbeing against AMD, but adding omega-3 supplements won’t make one jot of difference. This is according to a new study, published online in May in The Journal of the American Medical Association, which found that age-related macular degeneration (AMD) may be slowed by supplements but additional nutrients have no effect.
As you get older, your eyesight can start to decline. Millions find that their wellness is affected by AMD, which is a condition that can lead to blindness. As part of Healthy Vision Month, the National Eye Institute (NEI) is encouraging all Americans to make vision a health priority – and AMD is high on the agenda. If you’re over the age of 50, you should be keenly aware of the AMD, as it is in this population that the condition is the leading cause of severe vision loss.
In 2001, NEI’s Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) found that a formulation of antioxidant vitamins C and E, beta carotene and zinc may reduce the risk of progression to advanced AMD by about 25%. However, the Institute recently discovered that adding omega-3 fatty acids to the mix did not do anything to give more protection. Led by Emily Chew, MD, of the Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Applications, NEI/National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, a team of researchers investigated over 4,200 patients, who were at risk for progression to advanced AMD. The participants were all aged between 50 and 85.
The NEI tried changes to the formulation, adding omega-3 fatty acids and the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin, which are in the same family of nutrients as beta-carotene. However, after an average follow-up of about five years, the additional nutrients had not offered any extra vision protection. According to Christopher Quinn, OD, president at Omni Eye Services in Iselin, New Jersey and a member of the medical staff at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, who was not involved in this research, ‘The study helps consumers understand what type of nutritional supplements are beneficial. In addition to stopping smoking, a known risk factor for the development of AMD, patients should discuss with their eye doctor the use of nutritional supplements particularly if they have been diagnosed with macular degeneration.’
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