Eat oily fish 'to protect eyesight in old age'

If one wants to protect his eyesight in old age, a study suggests that eating oily fish at least once a week, would be one good way to go about it.

A team of researchers in Europe has found evidence, that eating oily fish once a week reduces age-related muscular degeneration (AMD), which is the major cause of blindness and poor vision in many people.

According to the researchers, there are two types of AMD, wet and dry. Of the two, wet AMD is the main cause of vision loss and fish fat could prevent it.

"This is the first study in Europeans to show a beneficial association on wet AMD from the consumption of oily fish, and is consistent with results from studies in the USA and Australia.

"Two servings a week of oily fish, such as salmon, tuna or mackerel, provides about 500 mg of docosahexaenoicacid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) per day," the 'American Journal of Clinical Nutrition' quoted lead researcher Astrid Fletcher of London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

In their study, the researchers analysed the association between fish intake and omega 3 fatty acids with wet AMD, comparing people with wet AMD with controls. Participants were interviewed about their dietary habits, including how much fish they ate and what type.

Information on the main omega 3 fatty acids DHA and EPA, was obtained by linking dietary data with food composition tables.

The findings show that people, who habitually consume oily fish at least once a week compared to less than once a week, are 50 per cent less likely to have wet AMD. There was no benefit from consumption of non-oily white fish.

The researchers also found a strong inverse association between levels of DHA and EPA and wet AMD. People in the top 25 per cent of DHA and EPA levels (300 mg per day and above), were 70 per cent less likely to have wet AMD.