Keep Your Eyes Wide Open

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a terrifying disease, causes blindness in more people 55 and older than cataracts and glaucoma combined. And the fact that it’s on the rise—and could well reach epidemic proportions as baby boomers live out their golden years—points to the need for preventive action. And, yes, carrots may very well play a leading role in preventing it.

The Age-Related Eye Disease study in 2001 proved that taking supplements of four antioxidants—vitamins C and E, zinc, and beta-carotene—helped reduce the progression of early and late-stage AMD. Building on that research, a recent Dutch study shows that an antioxidant-rich diet seems to work as a prophylactic. The scientists questioned a pool of more than 4,700 at-risk people in a Rotterdam suburb about their diets and then followed up eight years later with more than 4,100 of them. Those subjects whose diets included higher levels of vitamins C and E, zinc, and beta-carotene had 35 percent less risk of getting AMD. The authors of the study stress the importance of relying on dietary sources of these antioxidants versus supplements (think brightly colored vegetables as well as fruits and nuts).

—Sarah Forbes