Eye Care and Eye Health – Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Good eye health begins with your diet. Proper leafy green vegetables such as spinach, kale, and romaine lettuce. Other good leafy green vegetables include artichoke, beets, carrots, cabbage, cucumbers, eggplants, guavas, melons, oranges, peaches, prunes, strawberries, walnuts, sprouts, tomatoes, and zucchini. Oranges, limes, grapes, cherries, Mandarin oranges, honeydew, melon, mint, mulberries, pineapples, papaya, prune, berries, raisins, red beans, rice cakes, sun-dried tomatoes, and sweet potatoes.

Also, eye health depends upon regular visits to an optometrist for professional cleaning and yearly eye exams. The American Optometric Association recommends that all Americans over age 18 receive at least one annual eye exam. Of those adults, many don’t have eye exams until their mid-life crisis. In addition, even those who are diligent about their eye health may not be fully aware of the need to maintain proper contact lenses or glasses, or have the cash to pay for these services.

Vision care specialists recommend that individuals over age 60 visit an optometrist at least once each year for a professional eye exam, which can rule out and diagnose several eye diseases. These diseases include cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration, strabismus, and age-related macular degeneration. These diseases can cause vision loss and, in the case of cataracts, cause blindness. Eye exams can help detect these diseases and improve the vision of those who suffer from them. As cataracts affect many people around the world, family history of cataracts is known to influence risk for this eye disease. Therefore, it is important to learn about your family history and discuss these issues with your eye care professional before scheduling a routine eye exam.