Macular Degeneration: The Best Cure

Copyright (c) 2011 Stephen Lau

Macular Degeneration

The macula is a small central part of the retina that enables detailed vision. As such, it is critical to vision health. Macular degeneration is loss of central vision as one continues to age. It is also called aging retinal disease because it impairs reading vision, especially among the elderly. Macular degeneration is the fastest growing cause of legal blindness in the United States, affecting as many as 30 million Americans aged 65 and above.

Macular degeneration usually begins in one eye first, while 25 percent of the patients will subsequently develop a weak retina in the second eye as well. This aging retinal disease may have many warning symptoms before it gets worse and becomes full-blown. This aging retinal disease symptoms include the following: outlines of objects becoming blurry and wavy; straight lines becoming crooked; shapes of objects becoming indistinct and steamy; much slower reading speed; and a prolonged period of time to adapt when going indoor from a bright outdoor environment. Eye examination often indicates many solar aging spots on the retina—another sign of the development of macular degeneration.

The Risk Factors

If you are over 65, you are at risk, and the risk increases proportionately with age. If you have blue eyes you are at higher risk than those with brown eyes, because blue eyes enable the blue-violet sun rays to penetrate deeper into the eye tissues of the retina, and hence a greater chance of developing macular degeneration. If you are a smoker, you have 2.5 times increased risk than a non-smoker. If you are a sun worshiper, or spend much time outdoors, you are twice as likely to develop the disease.

Use your healthy lifestyle to promote your macula health.

The Best Cure: Prevention

Nowadays, according to conventional medicine, there is no ultimate cure for macular degeneration. Laser treatment can arrest the fast-progressing form of macular degeneration, but does not improve vision or preserve eyesight. Essentially, this aging retinal disease is untreatable and incurable.

The disease of the macula is a slow progress that may take years to develop and to become noticeable. Due to its slow development, by the time you notice it, the onset is already well underway, and the damage is inevitable. Therefore, prevention is the best cure. Vision health is an important component of self-healing of the eye.

Other than the genetic factor, a change in lifestyle early on in life may go a long way to preventing the development of macular degeneration. Prevention is the best cure.

Diet Treatment and Nutritional Therapy

Like many other diseases, macular degeneration can be treated with high doses of antioxidants and minerals. With the exception of vitamin D from sunlight, your body does not make your own vitamins and minerals; they must be obtained from your diet. Therefore, a proper diet is the best treatment for any disease, including macular degeneration. Diet plays a pivotal part in vision self-healing. You are what you eat, and you become what you eat. Eating right is important to your vision health at any age.

Antioxidants and vitamins and minerals are critical to vision health in preventing and treating generative diseases. You need high doses of beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, and zinc. Nutritional therapy is an important component of natural self-healing and vision health. Beta-carotene facilitates your body to convert plants into vitamin A, thereby instrumental in boosting normal cell reproduction in the eye, protecting the eye from free radicals, and enhancing night vision, Vitamin C is an important immune system booster, and an agent for making collagen to maintain healthy blood vessels in the eye. Vitamin E is a potent antioxidant to protect cell membranes. Zinc is a mineral required by more than 300 enzymes to repair wounds, to optimize vision health, and to protect the eye from free radicals, which damage the retina.

Nutritional therapy also includes supplements of lutein, Taurine, DHA, and ginkgo biloba. Lutein is a carotenoid found in vegetables and fruits, such as collard greens, kale, and spinach. Lutein promotes vision health through its potent antioxidant properties. Taurine transports nutrients to the eye as well as eliminates toxins accumulated in the eye; it also promotes retinal health and night vision. DHA, which is an essential Omega-3 fatty acid, enhances the healthy development of the retina. Ginkgo biloba, an ancient Chinese herb, optimizes overall vision health.

Use diet and nutrition to optimize macula health.

Words of Wisdom

Albert Einstein once said: "There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle." Believe that self-healing is a miracle, even for macular degeneration. Getting old and going blind is not the only ultimate fate for those diagnosed with macular degeneration.

Believe in the miracle of vision self-healing: your body has a built-in mechanism to heal itself if given the right environment, which is optimum macula health through diet treatment and nutritional therapy, and the right mindset, which is positive thinking in self-healing.


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Vision is one of the greatest assets in life. Protect your eyes and correct your vision naturally. Find out how you can enhance your vision health. Also, visit the author's website on holistic self-healing.