Eating Omega-3 Rich Fish Once A Week or More Can Help Prevent Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Macular degeneration is the most common cause of blindness in Americans age 50 and over — with some statistics showing at least 6 million sufferers of the condition.

Symptoms can include blurry, gray, or blank spots in the center of one’s field of vision, even while peripheral vision remains clear and sharp; color dilution; and distorted vision — for example, objects appear blurry, or to be the wrong shape or size, straight lines appear curved or wavy.

Some studies have suggested strong benefits to increasing omega-3 fat consumption for those already afflicted with age-related macular degeneration. However, recent studies also show that consuming more omega-3 essential fats can also help prevent the onset of age-related macular degeneration.

According to a study by Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, higher consumption of DHA (a type of omega 3 fatty acid) in women lead to a 38% lower incidence of the eye disease than women who consumed less DHA.

The study was impressive in that over 38,000 women’s dietary habits were collected and analyzed over a 10 year time frame for age-related macular degeneration occurrence.
The takeaway from the study was that women (and presumably men) should ensure they consume at least 1 serving of fatty fish per week.

Sources:

http://www.myhealthnewsdaily.com/omega-3-prevents-age-related-macular-degeneration

My-Omega-3′s Comments:

No surprise here. It’s well accepted among natural health experts that it’s much easier to prevent an illness or condition than to treat one that has already occurred. If you have a family history of eye conditions, you might want to take extra precaution and make sure you obtain enough DHA and EPA omega-3′s from your diet, whether through high quality fish oil supplementation, or eating enough fish every week.

In addition, some people mistakenly believe that all fish sources are equal. You might be surprised to know that some very popular types of fish, such as Tilapia, which is served at untold numbers of restaurants, has almost no omega-3 fatty acid content whatsoever.

Also, fried (or battered) fish is also a poor choice, and unfortunately many people consume their fish in this manner to make it more palatable. This process of cooking may offset any health benefits one would otherwise obtain.