Here’s news that may inspire many to look to lose weight. You’ve probably heard a lot about the dire consequences of being overweight-which 60 percent of Americans are-and now research from Harvard suggests that those extra pounds may be bad for your eyes.
Researchers think some nutrients needed in the retina in the eye may not get there because people are either not eating enough foods that contain these nutrients or, when these nutrients are consumed, they stay stored in body fat. Two such nutrients in particular are lutein and zeaxanthin (pronounced loo-teen and zee-ah-zan-thin), which are believed to help protect against age-related macular degeneration or AMD. These nutrients are part of a group of eye-protecting antioxidants-vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene and zinc.
AMD is the leading cause of blindness in older adults today, accounting for 54 percent of all blindness in white Americans and 45 percent of visual disability in the general population. AMD whittles away at central vision, so people affected with it see large blotches of gray to black when they look straight at something. Ironically, they can still see somewhat with peripheral...