Eat fish to save your eyes from the wear and tear of aging.
Eating fish and other foods high in omega-3 fatty acids is associated with reduced risk of the eye disease age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to a meta-analysis of nine previously published studies in the June issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. However, the accumulated evidence includes few clinical trials and is insufficient to support the routine consumption of such foods for AMD prevention, the authors note.
"Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of severe vision loss among elderly people," they write as background information in the article. New treatments for AMD are potentially risky and treat only certain forms of the disease. "Thus, primary prevention of AMD by modifying risk factors (e.g., cigarette smoking) remains an important public health strategy."
Elaine W-T. Chong, M.B.B.S., of the University of Melbourne, Australia, and colleagues conducted a systematic review of studies published before May 2007 evaluating the fish consumption and overall omega-3 fatty acid intake for the prevention of AMD. A total of nine studies were identified with 88,974 participants, including 3,203 individuals with AMD.
When results from all nine studies were combined, a high dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids was associated with a 38 percent reduction in the risk of late (more advanced) AMD, while eating fish twice a week was associated with a reduced risk of both early and late AMD.
The DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) in fish oil is a component of the retina. It also gets used in brain membranes.
By Randall Parker at 2008 June 09 10:56 PM Aging Diet Studies | TrackBackIn addition to fish, what are other sources? How about flaxseeds or avocados?
Where I live in Canada it is by far the coldest spring since I've lived here, which is 15 years. It was so cold here tha the local farmer's crops that were planted early in the season, ended up freezing to death. And the crops that get planted later had to be delayed by about a month. So quite large loss of investment, and so much for the idea of eating food near where its grown.
Of course this didn't stop the provincial government from passing a 26 cents a gallon tax on oil. To fight global warming it was said. The party that passed it at one point was a right wing party, but like the Republican party quickly turned into a green/centralized control party when in power.
I've seen milk with added DHA - have yet to buy it though. Look in your organic milk section.
The milk with added DHA has next to none. Same for yogurt, etc. Salmon has about .5 grams of omega 3s per ounce. THe triple strength fish oil pills I take have about .9 grams each (I take 2 a day). Most of the items you see with omega 3s added have 50mg or less per serving (you'll notice most don't bother listing an amount at all!). So to get the same as 4 oz of salmon, you'd need on the order of 40 servings. The only ones that I've seen that contain meaningful amounts of omega 3s are the Smart Balance products, which contain as much as 1 g per serving. But that's ALA omega 3,like from flax oil, as opposed to DHA and EPA omega 3, like in fish. Your body can convert one to the other, but most people consider DHA and EPA to be better. So look at the labels - if they don't give you an amount, it's probably not much of a help.
ALA does not readily convert into EPA. Check out the research by Michael Crawford, Charles Serhan (most if not all of his research is on inflammation), stephen cunane.
Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2007 Aug;32(4):619-34.
Research Center on Aging, Departments of Medicine, and Physiology and Biophysics, Université de Sherbrooke, 1036 Belvedere St, South, Sherbrooke, QC J1H 4C4, Canada.
There is considerable interest in the potential impact of several polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in mitigating the significant morbidity and mortality caused by degenerative diseases of the cardiovascular system and brain. Despite this interest, confusion surrounds the extent of conversion in humans of the parent PUFA, linoleic acid or alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), to their respective long-chain PUFA products. As a result, there is uncertainty about the potential benefits of ALA versus eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) or docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Some of the confusion arises because although mammals have the necessary enzymes to make the long-chain PUFA from the parent PUFA, in vivo studies in humans show that asymptotically equal to 5% of ALA is converted to EPA and ALA does not readily convert into EPA. Check out the research by Michael Crawford, Charles Serhan (most if not all of his research is on inflammation), stephen cunane.
Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2007 Aug;32(4):619-34.
Research Center on Aging, Departments of Medicine, and Physiology and Biophysics, Université de Sherbrooke, 1036 Belvedere St, South, Sherbrooke, QC J1H 4C4, Canada.
There is considerable interest in the potential impact of several polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in mitigating the significant morbidity and mortality caused by degenerative diseases of the cardiovascular system and brain. Despite this interest, confusion surrounds the extent of conversion in humans of the parent PUFA, linoleic acid or alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), to their respective long-chain PUFA products. As a result, there is uncertainty about the potential benefits of ALA versus eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) or docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Some of the confusion arises because although mammals have the necessary enzymes to make the long-chain PUFA from the parent PUFA, in vivo studies in humans show that asymptotically equal to 5% of ALA is converted to EPA and
Tom, clayton,
I agree with your points. Yes, the omega 3 fortifications are a joke with few exceptions. I happen to use the Smart Balance spread when I actually use a spread (which isn't very often).
Salmon is the best food source. But since I've gotten sick of eating it a few times a week I've switched to omega 3 pills of late.