Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsQuit SmokingMaintain a Healthy Blood PressureIncrease Antioxidants in Your DietTake a Daily SupplementCut Back on CarbsWear SunglassesGet Your Eyes Checked
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Quit Smoking
Maintain a Healthy Blood Pressure
Increase Antioxidants in Your Diet
Take a Daily Supplement
Cut Back on Carbs
Wear Sunglasses
Get Your Eyes Checked
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a common cause of vision loss in later life, should be diagnosed, treated, and monitored early to prevent severe vision loss. Your risk of AMD can be reduced with a few simple lifestyle modifications, including changes in diet, routine exercise, and quitting cigarettes.
2:32Common Risk Factors for Macular Degeneration
2:32
Common Risk Factors for Macular Degeneration
This is especially important for people with a family history of AMD, in whom the disease occurs four times more frequently than the general population. By making seven simple changes in your life, you may be able to mitigate the risk of a disease that causes progressive and often irreversibleretinaldamage and vision loss.
J_art / Getty Images
AMD is the leading cause of blindness in the United States, affecting over 11 million people, primarily adults over 60.
Causes and Risk Factors of Macular Degeneration
Macular degeneration occurs when the outer layers of the retina, in the area called themacula, begin to wear down.
Smoking cessationis arguably the number one modifiable risk factor for people with AMD. No matter how long and heavily you smoked, quitting cigarettes progressively reduces your risk of AMD for each and every year you are without cigarettes.
A 2013 review in theJournal of Ophthalmologyconcluded that people who quit and remain off cigarettes for 20 years have the same risk of AMD as non-smokers.
If you are among the 92.5% of Americans who had an unsuccessful quit attempt in the past year, do not give up.Quitting may take time, but the benefits to your health and eyesight will be well worth it.
Eye Health Issues and Safety
In addition to antihypertensive medications, there are lifestyle changes that can significantly reduce blood pressure as well. These include weight loss and routine exercise, particularly in people who are overweight or obese. Although weight in and of itself does not increase the risk of AMD, having abody mass indexof 30 or more can increase the severity of the disease.
If you don’t know where to start with a weight loss plan, speak to a healthcare provider or ask for a referral to a certain dietitian or nutritionist. Quitting cigarettes can also significantly reduce blood pressure.
What Is Macular Telangiectasia?
It has been proposed that a diet rich in antioxidant foods can help minimize macular degeneration in some people. These include foods that are high incarotenoidslikeluteinandzeaxanthinas well asflavonoidslikeanthocyanin.
Among the foods with the highest antioxidant content are:
While studies have yet to show a direct association between specific foods and the risk of AMD, epidemiologic research strongly suggests that antioxidant-rich Asian diets can significantly lower the risk.
A 2019 review of studies in the journalNutrientsconcluded that Chinese are 50% less likely than Americans to develop wet AMD, due in part to their high intake of carotenoid-rich foods.
Omega-3 fatty acidsfound in oily fish were once thought to be protective against AMD, but recent studies have found no such benefit from either omega-3-rich foods or supplements.
While the nutrients used in the AREDS studies can significantly reduce the risk of advanced AMD, there is no clear evidence that they can prevent the onset of the disease.
Vitamins and Supplements for Macular Degeneration
Eating fewersimple carbohydratesmay help slow or stop the progression of AMD. Simple carbohydrates, which include white sugar and refined flour, have a highglycemic index (GI)and cause the blood sugar to spike and then plummet rapidly once consumed. These dramatic fluctuations trigger extremeinflammationthroughout the body, which can remain chronic if simple carbs are eaten regularly.
Switching from simple carbs tocomplex carbohydratesis one of the easiest ways to reduce your risk of AMD. Complex carbs are rich infiberand are metabolized more slowly in the intestines, avoiding extremefluctuations in blood sugar levels.
Among the complex carbs you should incorporate in your diet are:
Among the simple carbs you should avoid are:
To aid in food selection, look for foods with a low GI label on the packaging or download a GI calculator app onto your cell phone.
The GI index is measured on a scale of 0 to 100. A GI score of less than 55 is considered to be low GI. A score higher than 70 is considered high GI.
What to Eat When You Have Macular Degeneration
There is little evidence that sun exposure increases the risk of getting AMD.But intense and ongoing exposure toultraviolet (UV) radiationfrom the sun can cause retinal damage that not only accelerates the progression of the disease but contributes to the formation ofcataracts.
The AMDF recommends that people wear protective eyewear whether on sunny or overcast days as clouds only filter a portion of theUVA and UVB radiation.
There are both tinted and clear UV 400 eyewear, the best of which wrap around the face to prevent rays from seeping in from the sides.Optometristsoften refer to these as “cocoon glasses.”
Even so, some experts recommend that you minimize the use of electronic devices at night and use approved anti-blue-light glasses or screen covers if you have AMD.
Choosing the Best Sunglasses to Protect Your Eyes
Regulareye examsshould be considered a routine part of your health care as you get older. Doing so can help healthcare providers spot the early signs of macular degeneration (including the formation of deposits, calleddrusen, in the retina). Eye exams can also look for any deterioration in your vision if you have AMD.
If AMD is suspected, an eye specialist called anophthalmologistcan perform a series of exams to diagnose the disease, including:
For many people, knowing one’s AMD status provides the incentive needed to make important changes to one’s life, including smoking cessation, improved diet and exercise, and weight loss.
How Macular Degeneration Is Diagnosed
In the end, there are no real drawbacks to quitting cigarettes, maintaining a healthy weight and blood pressure, or reducing your consumption of simple carbs. All of these things are beneficial to your health whether you have AMD or not.
If you do have AMD, these simple changes can go a long way toward preventing disease complications.
How Macular Degeneration Is Treated
21 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Lambert NG, Elshelmani H, Singh MK, et al.Risk factors and biomarkers of age-related macular degeneration.Prog Retin Eye Res. 2016;54:64-102. doi:10.1016/j.preteyeres.2016.04.003Pennington KL, DeAngelis MM.Epidemiology of age-related macular degeneration (AMD): associations with cardiovascular disease phenotypes and lipid factors.Eye Vis (Lond).2016;3:34. doi:10.1186/s40662-016-0063-5Myers CE, Klein BE, Gangnon R, Sivakumaran TA, Iyengar SK, Klein R.Cigarette smoking and the natural history of age-related macular degeneration: the Beaver Dam Eye Study.Ophthalmology. 2014;121(10):1949-55. doi:10.1016/j.ophtha.2014.04.040Velilla S, García-Medina JJ, García-Layana A, et al.Smoking and age-related macular degeneration: Review and update.J Ophthalmol. 2013;2013:895147. doi:10.1155/2013/895147Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Smoking cessation: Fast facts.Xu X, Ritz B, Coleman A, et al.Hypertension, antihypertensive medications use and risk of age-related macular degeneration in California Teachers Cohort.J Hum Hypertens. 2019 Oct [Online ahead of print]. doi:10.1038/s41371-019-0269-9Ren C, Liu W, Yin X, Zhang B, Lu P.Renin-angiotensin system inhibitor usage and age-related macular degeneration among hypertensive patients: Results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2005-2008.J Ophthal.2020; Article ID 4252031. doi:10.1155/2020/4252031Tyson CC, Appel LJ, Vollmer WM, et al.Impact of 5-year weight change on blood pressure: results from the Weight Loss Maintenance trial.J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich).2013;15(7):458-64. doi:10.1111/jch.12108Pescatello LS, MacDonald HV, Lamberti L, Johnson BT.Exercise for hypertension: A prescription update integrating existing recommendations with emerging research.Curr Hypertens Rep. 2015;17(11):87. doi:10.1007/s11906-015-0600-yBlasiak J, Petrovski G, Veréb Z, Facskó A, Kaarniranta K.Oxidative stress, hypoxia, and autophagy in the neovascular processes of age-related macular degeneration.Biomed Res Int. 2014;2014:768026. doi:10.1155/2014/768026Abokyi S, To CH, Lam TT, Tse DY.Central role of oxidative stress in age-related macular degeneration: Evidence from a review of the molecular mechanisms and animal models.Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2020;2020:7901270. doi:10.1155/2020/7901270Khoo HE, Ng HS, Yap WS, Goh HJH, Yim HS.Nutrients for prevention of macular degeneration and eye-related diseases.Antioxidants (Basel). 2019;8(4):85. doi:10.3390/antiox8040085Ng AL, Leung HH, Kawasaki R, et al.Dietary habits, fatty acids and carotenoid levels are associated with neovascular age-related macular gegeneration in Chinese.Nutrients.2019;11(8):1720. doi:10.3390/nu11081720Hobbs RP, Bernstein PS.Nutrient supplementation for age-related macular degeneration, cataract, and dry eye.J Ophthalmic Vis Res. 2014;9(4):487-93. doi:10.4103/2008-322X.150829Gorusupudi A, Nelson K, Bernstein PS.The Age-Related Eye Disease 2 Study: Micronutrients in the treatment of macular degeneration.Adv Nutr.2017;8(1):40-53. doi:10.3945/an.116.013177Weikel KA, Chiu CJ, Taylor A.Nutritional modulation of age-related macular degeneration.Mol Aspects Med. 2012;33(4):318-75. doi:10.1016/j.mam.2012.03.005Zhou H, Zhang H, Yu A, Xie J.Association between sunlight exposure and risk of age-related macular degeneration: a meta-analysis.BMC Ophthalmol.2018;18(1):331. doi:10.1186/s12886-018-1004-yRoberts JE.Ultraviolet radiation as a risk factor for cataract and macular degeneration.Eye Contact Lens.2011;37(4):246-9. doi:10.1097/ICL.0b013e31821cbcc9American Macular Degeneration Foundation.Ultra-violet and blue light aggravate macular degeneration.Ratnayake K, Payton JL, Lakmal OH, et al.Blue light excited retinal intercepts cellular signaling.Sci Rep.2018:8:1020. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-28254-8Zhao ZC, Zhou Y, Tan G, Li J.Research progress about the effect and prevention of blue light on eyes.Int J Ophthalmol.2018;11(12):1999-2003. doi:10.18240/ijo.2018.12.20
21 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Lambert NG, Elshelmani H, Singh MK, et al.Risk factors and biomarkers of age-related macular degeneration.Prog Retin Eye Res. 2016;54:64-102. doi:10.1016/j.preteyeres.2016.04.003Pennington KL, DeAngelis MM.Epidemiology of age-related macular degeneration (AMD): associations with cardiovascular disease phenotypes and lipid factors.Eye Vis (Lond).2016;3:34. doi:10.1186/s40662-016-0063-5Myers CE, Klein BE, Gangnon R, Sivakumaran TA, Iyengar SK, Klein R.Cigarette smoking and the natural history of age-related macular degeneration: the Beaver Dam Eye Study.Ophthalmology. 2014;121(10):1949-55. doi:10.1016/j.ophtha.2014.04.040Velilla S, García-Medina JJ, García-Layana A, et al.Smoking and age-related macular degeneration: Review and update.J Ophthalmol. 2013;2013:895147. doi:10.1155/2013/895147Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Smoking cessation: Fast facts.Xu X, Ritz B, Coleman A, et al.Hypertension, antihypertensive medications use and risk of age-related macular degeneration in California Teachers Cohort.J Hum Hypertens. 2019 Oct [Online ahead of print]. doi:10.1038/s41371-019-0269-9Ren C, Liu W, Yin X, Zhang B, Lu P.Renin-angiotensin system inhibitor usage and age-related macular degeneration among hypertensive patients: Results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2005-2008.J Ophthal.2020; Article ID 4252031. doi:10.1155/2020/4252031Tyson CC, Appel LJ, Vollmer WM, et al.Impact of 5-year weight change on blood pressure: results from the Weight Loss Maintenance trial.J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich).2013;15(7):458-64. doi:10.1111/jch.12108Pescatello LS, MacDonald HV, Lamberti L, Johnson BT.Exercise for hypertension: A prescription update integrating existing recommendations with emerging research.Curr Hypertens Rep. 2015;17(11):87. doi:10.1007/s11906-015-0600-yBlasiak J, Petrovski G, Veréb Z, Facskó A, Kaarniranta K.Oxidative stress, hypoxia, and autophagy in the neovascular processes of age-related macular degeneration.Biomed Res Int. 2014;2014:768026. doi:10.1155/2014/768026Abokyi S, To CH, Lam TT, Tse DY.Central role of oxidative stress in age-related macular degeneration: Evidence from a review of the molecular mechanisms and animal models.Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2020;2020:7901270. doi:10.1155/2020/7901270Khoo HE, Ng HS, Yap WS, Goh HJH, Yim HS.Nutrients for prevention of macular degeneration and eye-related diseases.Antioxidants (Basel). 2019;8(4):85. doi:10.3390/antiox8040085Ng AL, Leung HH, Kawasaki R, et al.Dietary habits, fatty acids and carotenoid levels are associated with neovascular age-related macular gegeneration in Chinese.Nutrients.2019;11(8):1720. doi:10.3390/nu11081720Hobbs RP, Bernstein PS.Nutrient supplementation for age-related macular degeneration, cataract, and dry eye.J Ophthalmic Vis Res. 2014;9(4):487-93. doi:10.4103/2008-322X.150829Gorusupudi A, Nelson K, Bernstein PS.The Age-Related Eye Disease 2 Study: Micronutrients in the treatment of macular degeneration.Adv Nutr.2017;8(1):40-53. doi:10.3945/an.116.013177Weikel KA, Chiu CJ, Taylor A.Nutritional modulation of age-related macular degeneration.Mol Aspects Med. 2012;33(4):318-75. doi:10.1016/j.mam.2012.03.005Zhou H, Zhang H, Yu A, Xie J.Association between sunlight exposure and risk of age-related macular degeneration: a meta-analysis.BMC Ophthalmol.2018;18(1):331. doi:10.1186/s12886-018-1004-yRoberts JE.Ultraviolet radiation as a risk factor for cataract and macular degeneration.Eye Contact Lens.2011;37(4):246-9. doi:10.1097/ICL.0b013e31821cbcc9American Macular Degeneration Foundation.Ultra-violet and blue light aggravate macular degeneration.Ratnayake K, Payton JL, Lakmal OH, et al.Blue light excited retinal intercepts cellular signaling.Sci Rep.2018:8:1020. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-28254-8Zhao ZC, Zhou Y, Tan G, Li J.Research progress about the effect and prevention of blue light on eyes.Int J Ophthalmol.2018;11(12):1999-2003. doi:10.18240/ijo.2018.12.20
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Lambert NG, Elshelmani H, Singh MK, et al.Risk factors and biomarkers of age-related macular degeneration.Prog Retin Eye Res. 2016;54:64-102. doi:10.1016/j.preteyeres.2016.04.003Pennington KL, DeAngelis MM.Epidemiology of age-related macular degeneration (AMD): associations with cardiovascular disease phenotypes and lipid factors.Eye Vis (Lond).2016;3:34. doi:10.1186/s40662-016-0063-5Myers CE, Klein BE, Gangnon R, Sivakumaran TA, Iyengar SK, Klein R.Cigarette smoking and the natural history of age-related macular degeneration: the Beaver Dam Eye Study.Ophthalmology. 2014;121(10):1949-55. doi:10.1016/j.ophtha.2014.04.040Velilla S, García-Medina JJ, García-Layana A, et al.Smoking and age-related macular degeneration: Review and update.J Ophthalmol. 2013;2013:895147. doi:10.1155/2013/895147Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Smoking cessation: Fast facts.Xu X, Ritz B, Coleman A, et al.Hypertension, antihypertensive medications use and risk of age-related macular degeneration in California Teachers Cohort.J Hum Hypertens. 2019 Oct [Online ahead of print]. doi:10.1038/s41371-019-0269-9Ren C, Liu W, Yin X, Zhang B, Lu P.Renin-angiotensin system inhibitor usage and age-related macular degeneration among hypertensive patients: Results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2005-2008.J Ophthal.2020; Article ID 4252031. doi:10.1155/2020/4252031Tyson CC, Appel LJ, Vollmer WM, et al.Impact of 5-year weight change on blood pressure: results from the Weight Loss Maintenance trial.J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich).2013;15(7):458-64. doi:10.1111/jch.12108Pescatello LS, MacDonald HV, Lamberti L, Johnson BT.Exercise for hypertension: A prescription update integrating existing recommendations with emerging research.Curr Hypertens Rep. 2015;17(11):87. doi:10.1007/s11906-015-0600-yBlasiak J, Petrovski G, Veréb Z, Facskó A, Kaarniranta K.Oxidative stress, hypoxia, and autophagy in the neovascular processes of age-related macular degeneration.Biomed Res Int. 2014;2014:768026. doi:10.1155/2014/768026Abokyi S, To CH, Lam TT, Tse DY.Central role of oxidative stress in age-related macular degeneration: Evidence from a review of the molecular mechanisms and animal models.Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2020;2020:7901270. doi:10.1155/2020/7901270Khoo HE, Ng HS, Yap WS, Goh HJH, Yim HS.Nutrients for prevention of macular degeneration and eye-related diseases.Antioxidants (Basel). 2019;8(4):85. doi:10.3390/antiox8040085Ng AL, Leung HH, Kawasaki R, et al.Dietary habits, fatty acids and carotenoid levels are associated with neovascular age-related macular gegeneration in Chinese.Nutrients.2019;11(8):1720. doi:10.3390/nu11081720Hobbs RP, Bernstein PS.Nutrient supplementation for age-related macular degeneration, cataract, and dry eye.J Ophthalmic Vis Res. 2014;9(4):487-93. doi:10.4103/2008-322X.150829Gorusupudi A, Nelson K, Bernstein PS.The Age-Related Eye Disease 2 Study: Micronutrients in the treatment of macular degeneration.Adv Nutr.2017;8(1):40-53. doi:10.3945/an.116.013177Weikel KA, Chiu CJ, Taylor A.Nutritional modulation of age-related macular degeneration.Mol Aspects Med. 2012;33(4):318-75. doi:10.1016/j.mam.2012.03.005Zhou H, Zhang H, Yu A, Xie J.Association between sunlight exposure and risk of age-related macular degeneration: a meta-analysis.BMC Ophthalmol.2018;18(1):331. doi:10.1186/s12886-018-1004-yRoberts JE.Ultraviolet radiation as a risk factor for cataract and macular degeneration.Eye Contact Lens.2011;37(4):246-9. doi:10.1097/ICL.0b013e31821cbcc9American Macular Degeneration Foundation.Ultra-violet and blue light aggravate macular degeneration.Ratnayake K, Payton JL, Lakmal OH, et al.Blue light excited retinal intercepts cellular signaling.Sci Rep.2018:8:1020. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-28254-8Zhao ZC, Zhou Y, Tan G, Li J.Research progress about the effect and prevention of blue light on eyes.Int J Ophthalmol.2018;11(12):1999-2003. doi:10.18240/ijo.2018.12.20
Lambert NG, Elshelmani H, Singh MK, et al.Risk factors and biomarkers of age-related macular degeneration.Prog Retin Eye Res. 2016;54:64-102. doi:10.1016/j.preteyeres.2016.04.003
Pennington KL, DeAngelis MM.Epidemiology of age-related macular degeneration (AMD): associations with cardiovascular disease phenotypes and lipid factors.Eye Vis (Lond).2016;3:34. doi:10.1186/s40662-016-0063-5
Myers CE, Klein BE, Gangnon R, Sivakumaran TA, Iyengar SK, Klein R.Cigarette smoking and the natural history of age-related macular degeneration: the Beaver Dam Eye Study.Ophthalmology. 2014;121(10):1949-55. doi:10.1016/j.ophtha.2014.04.040
Velilla S, García-Medina JJ, García-Layana A, et al.Smoking and age-related macular degeneration: Review and update.J Ophthalmol. 2013;2013:895147. doi:10.1155/2013/895147
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Smoking cessation: Fast facts.
Xu X, Ritz B, Coleman A, et al.Hypertension, antihypertensive medications use and risk of age-related macular degeneration in California Teachers Cohort.J Hum Hypertens. 2019 Oct [Online ahead of print]. doi:10.1038/s41371-019-0269-9
Ren C, Liu W, Yin X, Zhang B, Lu P.Renin-angiotensin system inhibitor usage and age-related macular degeneration among hypertensive patients: Results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2005-2008.J Ophthal.2020; Article ID 4252031. doi:10.1155/2020/4252031
Tyson CC, Appel LJ, Vollmer WM, et al.Impact of 5-year weight change on blood pressure: results from the Weight Loss Maintenance trial.J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich).2013;15(7):458-64. doi:10.1111/jch.12108
Pescatello LS, MacDonald HV, Lamberti L, Johnson BT.Exercise for hypertension: A prescription update integrating existing recommendations with emerging research.Curr Hypertens Rep. 2015;17(11):87. doi:10.1007/s11906-015-0600-y
Blasiak J, Petrovski G, Veréb Z, Facskó A, Kaarniranta K.Oxidative stress, hypoxia, and autophagy in the neovascular processes of age-related macular degeneration.Biomed Res Int. 2014;2014:768026. doi:10.1155/2014/768026
Abokyi S, To CH, Lam TT, Tse DY.Central role of oxidative stress in age-related macular degeneration: Evidence from a review of the molecular mechanisms and animal models.Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2020;2020:7901270. doi:10.1155/2020/7901270
Khoo HE, Ng HS, Yap WS, Goh HJH, Yim HS.Nutrients for prevention of macular degeneration and eye-related diseases.Antioxidants (Basel). 2019;8(4):85. doi:10.3390/antiox8040085
Ng AL, Leung HH, Kawasaki R, et al.Dietary habits, fatty acids and carotenoid levels are associated with neovascular age-related macular gegeneration in Chinese.Nutrients.2019;11(8):1720. doi:10.3390/nu11081720
Hobbs RP, Bernstein PS.Nutrient supplementation for age-related macular degeneration, cataract, and dry eye.J Ophthalmic Vis Res. 2014;9(4):487-93. doi:10.4103/2008-322X.150829
Gorusupudi A, Nelson K, Bernstein PS.The Age-Related Eye Disease 2 Study: Micronutrients in the treatment of macular degeneration.Adv Nutr.2017;8(1):40-53. doi:10.3945/an.116.013177
Weikel KA, Chiu CJ, Taylor A.Nutritional modulation of age-related macular degeneration.Mol Aspects Med. 2012;33(4):318-75. doi:10.1016/j.mam.2012.03.005
Zhou H, Zhang H, Yu A, Xie J.Association between sunlight exposure and risk of age-related macular degeneration: a meta-analysis.BMC Ophthalmol.2018;18(1):331. doi:10.1186/s12886-018-1004-y
Roberts JE.Ultraviolet radiation as a risk factor for cataract and macular degeneration.Eye Contact Lens.2011;37(4):246-9. doi:10.1097/ICL.0b013e31821cbcc9
American Macular Degeneration Foundation.Ultra-violet and blue light aggravate macular degeneration.
Ratnayake K, Payton JL, Lakmal OH, et al.Blue light excited retinal intercepts cellular signaling.Sci Rep.2018:8:1020. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-28254-8
Zhao ZC, Zhou Y, Tan G, Li J.Research progress about the effect and prevention of blue light on eyes.Int J Ophthalmol.2018;11(12):1999-2003. doi:10.18240/ijo.2018.12.20
Meet Our Medical Expert Board
Share Feedback
Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
Was this page helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
What is your feedback?
