This article was written by Support

One of our most cherished gifts is our eyesight, and the thought of losing this gift can be devastating.  Men and women suffer from health issues with differing prevalence and low vision due to age related macular degeneration is no different.

Age related macular degeneration, or AMD, is an eye disease that affects the part of the retina called the macula.  The macula is responsible for crisp central vision and we have a macula in both eyes on the back of the retina.

Even though age related macular degeneration is less prevalent amongst men compared to their female counterparts, it is still a destructive eye disease that can be difficult as it progresses.  Since women have a longer life expectancy than men, women tend to have a higher rate of AMD.

As age related macular degeneration progresses, it distorts central vision and you may develop a dark spot or black spot in the center of your visual field. This makes it difficult or nearly impossible to recognize faces, drive a car, or read.

There are two forms of age related macular degeneration, which are the wet form and the dry form.  The wet form usually presents itself as lines begin to look wavy instead of straight to the individual. It is caused by leaking blood vessels that cause visual distortion.  The more common form is the dry form which is caused by the breakdown of light sensitive cells in the macula, and the early signs are the formation of drusen, which are like little fatty deposits in the eye.

As of today, there is no cure for AMD but there are treatment options. The wet form is usually treated with injections into the eyeball.  The dry form has no prescription treatments yet, but it is recommended to take a dietary supplement in the form of macular degeneration vitamins that are high in antioxidants.

You have been diagnosed with the dry form, then you have probably been told by your doctor to take eye vitamin supplements based on AREDS 2.  The AREDS 2 formula consists of an eye vitamin containing vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc, copper, lutein and zeaxanthin.

The AREDS 2 formula is the recommendation of the National Eye Institute of the U.S. National Institutes of Health.  They performed two of the largest studies on age related macular degeneration.  The original study was called AREDS and its follow up study is called AREDS 2.

AREDS 2 is the gold standard formula for macular degeneration vitamins because it is the largest and most recent study, which indicates that the progression of age related macular degeneration can be slowed by taking the proper eye vitamin for macular degeneration.

When choosing a vitamin for your macular degeneration be sure to find one that is based on AREDS 2 and contains at least the six items mentioned above in this article. In addition to the six items, the other ingredients to take note of are the lutein and zeaxanthin.  The best macular degeneration vitamins have both lutein and zeaxanthin.  These should be indicated on the label as 10mg of lutein and 2mg of zeaxanthin.  This follows the 5 to 1 rule of five parts lutein to one part zeaxanthin, like they occur naturally in healthy foods.

The other note should be that you want to make sure that your supplement contains FloraGLO lutein, which is a superior lutein, and it is what was used in the AREDS 2 study.  Anything other than FloraGLO is cheap lutein and it is wasting your money because it won’t get absorbed as efficiently.
It is important to maintain a healthy lifestyle for men too.  We do not know if you can completely prevent age related macular degeneration, however, men can reduce their risks and slow the progression of AMD by following  some tips.  Men should maintain healthy cholesterol levels, eat more fruits and vegetables, exercise regularly, and maintain healthy weight.  You should also wear blue blocker sunglasses when in the sun or use a hat with a brim to reduce sunlight in your eyes.

Follow these tips and take the best macular degeneration vitamins that you can buy to reduce your risk of vision loss and slow the progression of age related macular degeneration.

Sources:

https://nei.nih.gov/health/maculardegen/armd_facts

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macular_degeneration

https://www.webmd.com/eye-health/macular-degeneration/

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