Fish or EPA/DHA Supplements May Help Protect Vision

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Fish or EPA/DHA Supplements May Help Protect Vision

 

Chalk up another possible health benefit of eating fish: prevention of

age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of irreversible

blindness in the US.

 

The macula is the central portion of the retina in the eye and when it is

damaged, visual problems -- including blindness -- are the unfortunate

result.

 

Australian researchers found that more frequent consumption of fish appeared

to protect against late age-related macular degeneration. Only a moderate

intake of fish was necessary for the protective effect.

 

Those who ate fish one to three times a month had about half the risk of

late-stage disease than those who ate fish less than once a month. And more

fish was not necessarily better.

 

The greatest amount of protection was seen in those who ate one serving of

fish a week, and there was no additional benefit of consuming more.

 

The investigators note that eating too much fish may interfere with the

absorption of vitamin E in the elderly, which could explain the threshold

protective effect from dietary fish.

 

Archives of Ophthalmology March, 2000;118:401-404

 

 

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Dr. Mercola's Comment:

 

Identifying preventable risk factors for age-related macular degeneration,

now the most common cause of blindness in western countries, may be the only

way of reducing the burden of this disease as current treatments are rarely

effective in the longer term. It is important to recognize the threshold

effect the authors describe.

 

There did not appear to be any benefit of having fish more than once a week.

The authors do not address the additional serious concern that virtually all

waterways in the world are contaminated and there really is no such thing as

organic commercial fish.

 

http://www.mercola.com/2000/mar/26/fish_blindness.htm

 

If one is healthy, it is likely that they could effectively eliminate the

heavy metals and PCBs that many fish have. So, it appears that fish more

than once a week are not necessary. To obtain the benefits of fish one can

use a high quality EPA/DHA supplement. Mega doses are not required and it is

likely one a day would be sufficient.

 

Return to Table of Contents Issue #146

 

 

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