Eye diseases are conditions that affect any part of your eye or the structures around your eyes like your eye muscles, eye socket, optic nerve, and eyelids. Eye diseases can cause discomfort and vision impairment, which can decrease quality of life in addition to increasing risk of chronic health conditions, falls and injuries, social isolation, and depression. The most common eye diseases resulting in vision loss are age-related, meaning our risk increases as we get older, and include cataracts, age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy.
Cataracts is a cloudy area in the normally-clear lens of your eye. There are no early symptoms, and later symptoms include blurry vision, colors that seem faded, light sensitivity, double vision, and difficulty seeing in the dark and at night. Cataracts is so common that over half of adults over the age of 80 either have cataracts or have already had surgery to have cataracts removed.
Age-Related Macular Degeneration is deterioration of a part of the retina called the macula, which causes blurring and eventual loss of central vision. There are no early symptoms. Age-Related Macular Degeneration is the leading cause of vision loss in older adults, affecting at least 40% of American adults over the age of 85.
Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases in which there is damage to the optic nerve that can result in loss of peripheral vision, blind spots, and blindness. There are often no early symptoms, which is why about half of people with glaucoma don’t know they have it. It’s estimated that at least 2% of American adults over the age of 40 have glaucoma.
Diabetic Retinopathy Diabetic retinopathy is a relatively common complication of diabetes where high blood sugar levels damage the blood vessels of the retina over time. There are usually no early symptoms and later symptoms include blurry vision, floating spots in your vision, and blindness. It is estimated that more than a quarter of American adults with diabetes have diabetic retinopathy, and about 5% of diabetic Americans have vision-threatening diabetic retinopathy.
This article explains the links between common eye diseases and 12 different nutrients —including specific vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, amino acids, and phytonutrients. It’s important to clarify that while some nutritional supplements can have therapeutic value for some eye diseases, the primary focus of this article is on nutrients associated with reducing the risk of developing these eye conditions in the first place to emphasize the benefits of adopting nutrient-dense eating patterns as lifelong healthy habits (and not to create a list of supplements to buy).
In addition, eye health is influenced by many factors beyond food alone, especially older age but also including genetics, gender, ethnicity, alcohol and tobacco use, sun exposure, socioeconomic status, previous eye injury, and history of diabetes, high cholesterol or high blood pressure. As a reminder, a nutrient-dense diet can improve health outcomes including reducing risk of many eye diseases, but it is not a guarantee, a cure, or a moral safeguard.
So, let’s actually start with risk factors for eye diseases, to create the appropriate context for our review of the nutrients that lower severity, progression, and occurrence.
Risk Factors for Eye Diseases
Advancing age is the single biggest risk factor for cataracts, age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma.
Other risk factors for cataracts include: diabetes, sun exposure, smoking and other tobacco use, obesity, family history of cataracts, prolonged use of corticosteroid
