Keep an eye on your eyes — because your peepers just might be the first part of your body to spy dementia coming.

That’s especially true if your eyes are getting an up-close look at retinopathy, an eye condition that often leads to vision loss and even blindness.

It’s bad enough on its own, but now researchers say a new look at data on more than 500 women finds that dementia and retinopathy may come hand-in-hand — or as close to hand-in-hand as brains and eyes can be, anyway.

Researchers say women given annual memory and thinking tests for up to a decade were much more likely to flunk them if they had the eye disease — and that was true even if they had the blood vessel damage in the retina that marks the condition, but didn’t have any actual vision problems yet.

Of course, that blood vessel damage isn’t truly a disease all its own. Retinopathy is usually a warning of something else going on — another condition that could be causing the same type of blood vessel damage in much less visible areas.

Like the brain.

And sure enough, brain scans of the women in the new study revealed that those who had the eye disease also had blood vessel damage inside the brain itself.

Obviously, the answer here isn’t just treating the eyes. It’s finding and treating the underlying condition before it’s too late. Or better yet, avoiding the condition in the first place — and that means taking care of the rest of your body, because one of the leading causes of retinopathy is diabetes.

In fact, the two conditions are so closely linked that diabetic retinopathy is now the leading cause of new blindness among middle-aged Americans — and we know that diabetics are also more likely to suffer from dementia.

You’ve heard of killing two birds with one stone, right? Avoid diabetes, and you’ll likely avoid three diseases (or more) at the same time.

An aspirin a day won’t do much for your heart, but it can do plenty for your eyes — and not in a good way.

The latest research finds that the painkiller-a-day advice pushed by decades of TV commercials — not to mention docs across the country — could double your risk of battling the leading cause of blindness in seniors.

Dutch researchers looked at data on some 4,700 seniors across Europe and found that 4 percent of daily aspirin users suffered late-stage wet advanced macular degeneration, versus 2 percent of those who didn’t take the pills.

The researchers didn’t find a link to the dry form of the disease or the earlier stages of it — but I don’t think the 1.6 million American seniors losing their vision to AMD care much: If cutting down on aspirin is a way to avoid the worst of the worst, then be sure to cut down on the aspirin.

But that’s not the advice you’ll get from the mainstream. In fact, the researchers behind the study claim the risk of vision loss is perfectly fine next to the supposed benefits of daily aspirin.

“A healthy eye with full visual capacities is of no use in a dead body,” one of the researchers told Reuters.

Just one little problem here: The idea that aspirin saves lives is a lot of made-for-TV-commercials marketing hype — not a scientific reality.

One study I told you about last year looked at 3,350 men and women at high risk of heart disease who were given either a placebo or a daily aspirin, and found absolutely no difference in the rate of heart attacks, stroke, angina or even revascularization surgery.

Another study, a review of six other studies, found only a tiny reduction in heart attacks among patients taking aspirin for primary prevention — but a huge leap in the number of side effects such as serious internal bleeding issues.

If vision loss, internal bleeding and ulcers aren’t enough risk, one study even found that daily aspirin use could cause you to lose one of your other senses, too: Researchers say men between the ages of 45 and 50 who take daily aspirin have a higher risk of hearing loss.

Aspirin has also been linked to tiny “microbleeds” in the brain, tinnitus, allergic reactions, erection problems and more — but that doesn’t mean you can’t lower your risk of a heart attack with a single pill every day.

Just make sure that pill contains fish oil instead of painkillers.

by Dr. Alan Inglis

There are few more terrifying parts of aging than vision loss. It’s one thing to need a stronger prescription for eyeglasses every few years or so – but it’s quite another when your deteriorating vision starts to rob you of your independence.

Folks suffering from age-related macular degeneration can lose the ability to read, drive, and even recognize the faces of their friends and loved ones. It’s an agonizing condition, but new research shows that a simple vitamin regimen can help you prevent it.

A new study out of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston found that women who took a combination of B vitamins – specifically B-6, B-12 and folic acid, reduced their risk of macular degeneration by one-third compared to women who took a placebo.

The reduction didn’t happen overnight. The study charted the women over the course of seven years. It proves what I’ve been saying all along – one of the greatest benefits of vitamins and supplements is what they can do for you through long-term, repeated use.

The researchers think that B vitamins may help prevent macular degeneration because they lower homocysteine, a substance in your blood that’s been linked to heart disease. Lowering homocysteine may be particular important for the small, sensitive blood vessels of the eye.

If you’re concerned about vision loss – and if your worried about macular degeneration in particular – it makes sense to consider vitamin B supplements or a multi-vitamin with a full supply of vitamin B. Aside from helping your vision, B vitamins are important for metabolism, central nervous support and even for staving off depression.

These vitamins are inexpensive, widely available and safe – and their only side effect is overall good health.