In a world of complex cures and technological treatments, it is nice to know that by following the age-old lesson of taking your vitamins, you can possibly help prevent or slow the debilitating vision-loss disease called age-related macular degeneration.

To put it as simply as possible, macular degeneration is caused by the deposit of waste molecules behind the eye, which are usually carried away by circulation in healthy eyes. It typically begins in people over 50 and sufferers experience central vision loss. For example, if they were looking at another person, their face would be blurred but the peripheral vision would still be intact, like the bike at right.

In quality-of-life studies, researchers interviewed patients with macular degeneration and found its impact to be comparable to other serious health problems like a fractured hip or cardiovascular disease. “They find that the concept of vision loss is so debilitating. It’s really significant,” says Ambreen Kassam, the brand manager for Vitalux macular degeneration supplements. “It is a huge impact on someone who all their life has been independent and now they’re in their golden years and they have to deal with this.”

The factors that contribute to macular degeneration fit into two categories; unmodifiable factors you can’t control, and modifiable factors you can control (phew). The unmodifiable factors include your eye colour and gender (people with lighter eyes and females are more vulnerable) and genetics. People with parents or siblings who have macular degeneration are three to four times more likely to get the disease themselves. The modifiable, on the other hand, include things like — you guessed it — diet, smoking and sunlight exposure. “[Nutrition] definitely plays an important role and it’s a role that’s becoming increasingly more understood as time and as studies progress,” says Dr. David Chow, a retinal specialist from Toronto.

A group of scientists worked on a study about how your nutrition ties into your vision by testing the role of beta-carotene (the “good ol’ carrots make you see better” theory), vitamin C, E and zinc. They found that these nutrients helped decrease the progression of macular degeneration by 25%. They are now conducting a second study with lutien and everyone’s favourite trendsetting nutrient, omega 3 fatty acids. One study found that people who ate fish more than twice a week were 39% less likely to progress to a more severe stage of macular degeneration, leading to vision loss. Vitalux has taken that research and applied it to a line of vitamins that both help prevent macular degeneration or help slow the progress.

Keep in mind though: The vitamin does not claim to improve your vision.

“It’s a hard thing to see a difference in people’s vision day to day, so when people start on these supplements what they need to buy into is the notion that this is going to offer them a protective value long-term,” says Dr. Chow. The line includes vitamins based on the original research mentioned above for people with the disease and a newer vitamin brand called Vitalux Healthy Eyes for people who identify with the unmodifiable risk factors like family history. With nutrition playing such an important role in your eye health, the expression “Your eyes eat first” has found a whole new meaning. •