Omega-3 for your eyes

Call this one more benefit killed in action during the indiscriminate war on fat.

When the mainstream convinced everyone to stop eating all fats, millions upon millions of Americans quietly began losing out on omega-3 fatty acids.

Those essential fats have a number of well-established benefits. And the latest research shows that they may help prevent a top cause of blindness among older folks: age-related macular degeneration.

The study on mice, published in August in the American Journal of Pathology, found that when the rodents were given diets rich in omega-3s, they had fewer of the retinal lesions that damage the vision.

Not only that, but it slowed the progression of lesions already present and even reversed some of them.

This confirms the findings of two studies done on humans and published in 2006 in the Archives of Ophthalmology. These studies found that folks who ate plenty of fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids have a lower risk of developing age-related macular degeneration.

One of those studies shows that the fatty fish lowered the risk by as much as 40 percent.

Sounds great, right? The problem is that most Americans don’t get enough omega-3 fatty acids, and it’s become incredibly difficult to get enough from diet alone, as I mentioned just a few months back.

Most of the naturally occurring omega-3 fatty acids in our diets were processed right out of our foods generations ago because of how the animals we eat are fed. You see, only animals that eat greens instead of grains accumulate these important oils. So unless you eat a lot of wild game or wild fatty fish, chances are you’ll need to take a supplement to ensure you’re getting the right amount.

While omega-3 fatty acids are finally starting to get their long-overdue attention as manufacturers race to put them into everything from peanut butter to orange juice, there are entire generations who got far too little for far too long.

That can help explain the 25 percent jump in age-related macular degeneration between 2002 and 2008. Expect those numbers to rise even more, in part because our population is getting older, but in part because they’ve been given the wrong advice about nutrition for decades, and now they’re paying for it.

But whether you’re concerned about your eyes or not, make sure you get those omega-3 fatty acids into your system. They’re easy to get and will protect you in many ways – eye health is only the beginning when it comes to the amazing omega-3s.

Omega-3 fatty acids can help lower your risk for heart disease, improve cholesterol levels, manage blood pressure, and fight arthritis and mental illnesses such as depression. And that’s not even the complete list.

All that and with no side effects, too – no wonder they’ve been trying to keep it from you.