Eating fish at least once a week may help to lower the risk of eyesight loss due to age, reports a new study published in the Archives of Ophthalmology.
Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School reviewed health surveys filled out by over 38,000 women in their 40s. At the outset of the study, none of the women had been diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) – a type of eyesight loss caused by age.
Those who consumed the most omega-3 fatty acids found in fish were 38 percent less likely to develop AMD than those who consumed the least.
Eating fish one or more times a week lowered the risk of AMD by 42 percent when compared to those who ate fish only once per month or less.
"Fish oil, that is the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish, that have long been thought to be protective against cardiovascular disease may also be of significant benefit in the primary prevention of AMD among women who have no disease or have undetected early signs of disease, and have not yet been diagnosed with AMD," said study author William G. Christen.