Is Fish Oil Beneficial to Your Eyes?
Omega-3 fatty acids, commonly found in fish oil, provide numerous health benefits and safeguards against disease. But one of the lesser known benefits of fish oil is its role in eye health.
Other People Are Reading
-
The Retina
-
The retina maintains an especially high concentration of omega-3, which has been proven to protect the eye from retinopathy in lab studies of mice.
Blood Vessels
-
In a study of how omega-3 fatty acids effect blood vessels, two in particular -- EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) -- were shown to boost healthy retinal blood vessels.
-
Prevention of Retinopathy and Macular Degeneration
-
Safeguarding the retina of the eye is particularly essential to diabetics, who are at risk of developing diabetic retinopathy, a condition involving shrinking blood vessels and abnormal growth on the retinal surfaces. The risk of another eye disease, macular degeneration, which can lead to vision loss, may also be lessened through the intake of omega-3 fatty acids.
Abnormal Vessels
-
Omega-3 fatty acids, such as fish oil, form bioactive mediators, chemical compounds that can prevent the formation of abnormal vessels. This is important in the prevention of retinopathy, as abnormal vessels are typically found in patients with the disease.
Benefit of Increasing Omega-3
-
By increasing the intake of omega-3 and lowering the intake of omega-6, vessel loss is diminished and the formation of abnormal vessels is also reduced.
-
