Macular degeneration causes central vision to decline, diminishing your ability to see fine details in objects and people’s faces while not impacting side (peripheral) vision.

Age-related macular degeneration can be divided into two distinct forms – dry and wet. Dry form typically begins when yellow protein deposits called drusen begin accumulating underneath the retina.

1. Eat a Healthy Diet

Macular degeneration affects millions of Americans, rendering reading, driving and seeing faces difficult. It results from damage to the macula at the center of your retina and may manifest either through thinned vision dotted with yellow spots known as drusen or by loss of central vision entirely.

Macular degeneration and other eye diseases can be prevented with the right nutrients, so eating a balanced diet full of fruits, vegetables and proteins is crucial for keeping eyes healthy.

Leafy green vegetables such as kale, spinach and collards provide an abundance of lutein and zeaxanthin which may reduce cataract risks and slow age-related macular degeneration progression. Other dark green veggies like bok choy, Swiss chard and arugula contain these vitamins and minerals too.

Foods rich in vitamin C are another effective way to support eye health. Citrus fruits such as lemons, oranges and tangerines contain this nutrient which has been shown to lower cataract risks and age-related macular degeneration risk. Other foods high in Vitamin C are tomatoes, strawberries and red bell peppers.

Diets that contain plenty of omega-3 fatty acids can also lower your risk for macular degeneration, so eating fish such as salmon, halibut and cod as well as nuts such as walnuts may help. Other essential eye nutrients for eye health are zinc, niacin and riboflavin which can be found in meat liver poultry eggs dairy products; alternatively you could take daily vitamins/minerals supplements that contain these vitamins to ensure you are meeting the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA), an estimate of how much nutrition a healthy individual requires at different life stages/gender groups.

2. Get Regular Eye Exams

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness among people over age 50 and leads to the progressive degradation of your retina, or macula, responsible for sharp, straight vision. It causes sharpened, straighter sight. Macular degeneration causes blurry vision that makes reading, driving and other activities that require central vision difficult, though it does not lead to total blindness as other aspects of your visual field (peripheral) remain clear. There are two forms of macular degeneration – dry and wet. The dry form occurs when yellow protein deposits known as drusen accumulate underneath the retina and cause macula thinning, eventually leading to gradual vision loss over time. For those less frequently affected, abnormal blood vessels grow beneath retina and leak fluid underneath; this less common variant often results in faster vision loss than its dry counterpart.

Macular degeneration can best be avoided through annual comprehensive dilated eye exams. Many eye diseases, including AMD, don’t show early warning signs or symptoms; therefore it is important to receive at least one examination every two years. It is particularly recommended if there is a family history of eye disease, smoking or diabetes is present in your life.

To reduce your risk for macular degeneration, it’s important to eat a varied diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables, limit smoking and sun exposure, exercise regularly, and follow the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes take at least 20 seconds away from close work for at least 20 seconds so as to prevent eye strain and fatigue. Furthermore, it is vitally important that overall health issues such as high blood pressure or diabetes be managed in order to safeguard vision health.

3. Avoid Smoking

Smoking isn’t only detrimental to lungs; it also increases your risk of age related macular degeneration eye disease. Scientists believe the lack of oxygen delivered directly into retina by smoking increases your chances of AMD, cataracts and dry eye syndrome – people who smoke have double or triple greater odds than non smokers of developing AMD while second hand smoke inhalation increases that chance. Furthermore, second-hand smoke also has been shown to cause diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma among many other issues that threaten eye health conditions like diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma among others.

Macular degeneration, also known as central vision loss, occurs when retinal (back of eye) degeneration causes damage in the central part of retina called macula, leading to sharp central vision loss while side (peripheral) vision remains normal – although not leading to total blindness, macular degeneration may make fine details difficult to see or driving more hazardous.

Macular degeneration comes in two varieties – dry and wet. In the former form, yellow protein deposits called drusen build up under the retina and can damage its macula, leading to central vision loss. On the other hand, less frequent but more serious macular degeneration involves abnormal blood vessels developing under the retina that leak fluid or blood into it from underneath, potentially damaging macula damage and leading to loss.

Avoiding macular degeneration with regular eye exams, eating healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables, limiting sun exposure, staying active, not smoking and making other simple lifestyle changes is the most effective way to protect vision health and preserve quality of life throughout life. By making these small lifestyle changes people can reduce the risk of vision issues while improving overall wellbeing throughout their lives.

4. Wear Sunglasses

Diet is one of the easiest and most effective ways to stave off age-related macular degeneration, providing your eyes with essential vitamins like zinc, lutein and omega-3 fatty acids found in leafy green vegetables, fish such as salmon, tuna and halibut and eggs, vitamin C & E supplements can also aid your eye health; in addition to this approach avoiding smoking and wearing sunglasses can also protect vision health.

Sunglasses should block UV rays to lower your risk of cataracts and other eye problems, and protective goggles for activities like skiing or playing sports where eye injury could occur. You could also try installing a glare-reducing filter onto your smartphone for even further eye protection.

If you spend too much time at your computer, taking regular breaks to relieve eye strain is vital to avoid further discomfort. One effective technique for doing so is the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes look away for 20 seconds from a distance of 20 feet or greater for at least 20 seconds.

As part of your health routine, it’s also crucial that you visit an eye doctor regularly for an eye exam. Your physician can use an exam to detect early signs of eye disease and treat them before they progress further. A baseline eye exam should take place by age 40 but additional dilated eye examinations may be necessary if your family history includes eye diseases, high blood pressure or diabetes.

Age-related macular degeneration, commonly referred to as AMD, is the gradual loss of central vision associated with age which affects the macula, part of the retina at the back of the eye. While not resulting in total blindness, AMD makes it harder for sufferers to see faces, read, drive or complete close up work; and is one of the leading causes of blindness among people aged 55 years or more.

5. Stay Active

Macular degeneration is a relatively common retinal condition affecting the macula in the center of the retina, leading to vision loss that makes reading, driving or performing other activities that require good central vision increasingly difficult. Macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness among people over 55 and typically manifests itself with wavy or blurry lines or dark spots appearing at the center of your field of vision that get larger over time. People affected still retain peripheral (side) vision that allows them to see fine details despite macular degeneration symptoms; it may even exist without noticeable symptoms; therefore following healthy diet practices along with regular eye exams is key when trying to prevent macular degeneration from occuring – along with regular eye exams and refraining from smoking can all help protect you against it!

Though it can be easy to view eye health as separate from overall wellness, they’re deeply linked. Engaging in regular physical activity and eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables as well as not smoking are all proven ways of maintaining eye health and lowering your risk for macular degeneration and other serious eye disorders.

Lifestyle changes can significantly reduce your risk of age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of irreversible blindness in Americans over 55. University of California researchers have discovered that taking certain antioxidant vitamins and minerals, as well as eating a diet rich in nuts, fruits, and fish may slow the progress of macular degeneration.

Macular degeneration affects over 13 million Americans over 55, making it the leading cause of irreversible blindness for this age group. Yet it is the most preventable of the leading causes, including cataracts and glaucoma. Macular degeneration often begins as light-sensitive cells in the macula of each eye begin to break down gradually over time – often gradually and can affect different areas at different times; eventually it may affect one or both eyes simultaneously; although in severe cases abnormal blood vessels may grow under the retina leaking fluid or blood and distorting or blurring vision further affecting vision further still.