Quit Smoking and Eat Fish to Improve Eyesight

A study led at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston found that smoking increases risks of eye diseases, while eating fish on a regular basis lower the risks of developing serious eye diseases. Risks of developing blindness related disorders among the elderly are very much increased, almost doubled, by smoking. The researchers state that those who smoked early in life are more likely to get Age-related Macular Degeneration that those who never smoked.

Macular Degeneration relates to any kind of degeneration of the macula of the eye. The macula of the eye is the central portion of the retina and is responsible for focusing central vision in the eye. The deterioration of the macula is caused by malfunctioning cone cells in the retina.

However, elder people that eat fish regularly, two or more servings weekly, lessen their chances of developing eye conditions. The study carried out in Boston and published in Archives of Ophthalmology concluded that about " a third of the risk of (the disease) ... could be attributable to cigarette smoking, and about a fifth of the cases were estimated as preventable with higher fish and omega-3 fatty acid dietary intake," informs Reuters.

Eating fish improves eye sight because it contains Omega 3 fatty acid. Any of the several polyunsaturated fatty acids found in vegetable oils, fish such as salmon and mackerel and other natural sources is called Omega 3 fatty acid.

Volunteers that took part in the US study included 222 seniors that suffer from Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD), found in intermediate or chronic stages of the eye disease, and 459 elder men with no or early AMD. All the men in the study were 70 - 80 years old. The ones that ate at least two fish meals a week were found 45% less likely to lose their eye vision.

Australian researchers reported in a study published in the same Archives of Ophthalmology that they have come to the same conclusions: smoking is very harmful for eye vision, but its negative effects can be neutralized, treated and improved by regularly fish intake.

Reuters also informs that the report of the research carried out by scientists in Sydney mentions that "insufficient essential fatty acid intake could result in abnormal retinal metabolism and cell renewal." But supplements of omega 3, especially from fish, "may protect against retinal oxidation and degeneration."