It is now well established that dietary choices affect visual health for better or for worse. Thanks to this evaluation, we can celebrate that eating for vision protection and eating for pleasure can go hand in hand!

For this study, scientists followed the vision and diets of over 5,000 adults for a period of 4 to 21 years. Study subjects who most closely adhered to the Mediterranean pattern of eating slashed their risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness, by a whopping 41 percent. This delectable diet is high in fish, fruits, veggies, legumes, whole grains, and olive oil and low in red meat, sugar, and processed foods.

Commenting on this study, Emily Chew, M.D., a clinical spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology, said “You are what you eat. It’s time to take quitting a poor diet as seriously as quitting smoking.”