Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is becoming more of a problem today then ever before.

There are several factors of poor eye sight these days, including under-nutrition, poor lifestyle habits and drug side effects. But, other enemies are flat screen televisions and computer screens.

We were all warned of the dangers of sitting too close to the TV when we were kids, right?

Take a look around you. Now, everyone is straining to read their iPod, Kindle, laptop and cellular phone screens. Otherwise, they’re stuck staring “google-eyed” at their 50 inch High Definition entertainment systems. Heck, kids these days would have to sit clear to the back of the room to avoid being “too close” to the screen!

All these modern gadgets radiate frequencies harmful to your eyes.

The other harmful habit that makes for poor vision earlier in life is wearing dark sun glasses. The dark lenses trick your iris to open, enlarging the pupil, which lets more harmful radiation into the eye.

Not to mention the latest twisted-trend kids are getting into from following “demented celebrities” like Lady Gaga. She wears contact lenses that make the pupils enlarge. Apparently, this has some sexual appeal. Now, kids are wearing these “bed room eyes” all day long.

No matter how you look at it, failing vision is an unseen crisis slowly making everyone its victim.

There’s A Light At The End Of The Tunnel

The University of Wisconsin in Madison showed target nutrients may lower the risk of immediate Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD).

In the 2006 Archives of Ophthalmology, they published a study on a class of nutrients called carotenoids. They studied more than 1700 women to confirm that a diet rich in the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin really helped protect eye sight.

These healing food sourced nutrients come from fruits and vegetables and cannot be made by your body. So, if you’re afraid of going blind in your golden years, make sure you eat plenty of carotene rich fruits and vegetables.

About 20,000,000 people in the U.S. suffer from age-related loss of vision.

Another nutrient that has been shown to protect your vision is food sourced vitamin E, but not the synthetic kind. Vitamin E shields your eyes against the ultra-violet radiation from the sun and fights free radical damage because it’s a powerful antioxidant.

One way to prove the benefits of a healthy diet and life style is to study identical twins. Also published in the 2006 Archives of Ophthalmology was a twin study by Dr. Johanna Seddon, et al., which revealed cigarette smokers had almost a 2 fold increase in the risk of AMD.

This same study also showed that people who eat more fish rich in omega-3 fatty acid significantly reduced their risks of AMD.

So, there’s more proof that a healthy life style can make all the difference in how you age.

P.S. I’ve found most people don’t know that too much omega-6 and omega-9 can cause inflammation. That’s why it’s important to find a balanced food source higher in omega-3 fatty acids than omega-6 or omega-9.

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