The Foods that Protect Your Eyes, Help Prevent Macular Degeneration

Many of us remember (or still watch!) the old Popeye cartoons where the title character would instantly gain much greater physical strength by eating a can of spinach. But did you know that it could also build the strength of the macular pigment, a shield against vision loss?

Macular degeneration is a common age-related complaint, partly because the macula in the center of our eyes can easily become damaged by prolonged bright light exposure, or looking directly at strong light sources such as the sun, without protection.

Swanson Full Spectrum ... Buy New $5.57 ($0.09 / Count) (as of 05:50 UTC - Details) The risk of this damage, however, can be reduced by increasing the amount of yellow pigment that shields the macula primarily from “blue” light. This blue light is the dominant type of light emitted by computers and many TVs and is one part of sunlight.

The yellow pigment that protects the macula from blue light is made of three carotenoids: lutein, zeaxanthin, and meso-zeaxanthin. Zeaxanthin is 75% of the pigment in the central area of the macula, while lutein makes up two-thirds of the macular pigment towards the edges. This pigment can wear down with age, possibly due to poorer digestion, or from poor dietary intake of these three carotenoids.

The thickness of this pigment, measured as Macular Pigment Optical Density, can be measured in an optometrist’s office, and is scored from 0 to 1. Less than 0.21 is considered to be “low”, 0.22-0.44 is medium, and 0.45-1 is “high,” and the healthiest range. A thicker pigmentation can not only protect against macular degeneration, the most common form of blindness but also prevent photosensitivity, help us see at night and improve vision in natural environments.

So in theory, carotenoids may protect against blindness, but what about in practice?

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