Air date: May 24, 2009

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Did you Know? is presented by Wishard Health Services, becoming Eskenazi Health in 2014.

It's well known that eating a diet rich in fish, nuts and olive oil is good for your heart, but new studies show that a Mediterranean diet can also help ward off disease that affect eyesight, such as age-related macular degeneration, or AMD.

Researchers found that people who ate fish once a week were 30% less likely to develop AMD and people who ate one to two servings of nuts had a 35% lower risk for the disease.

Foods like fish and nuts are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, proteins that may protect eyesight by stopping plaque from building up in arteries of the retina or by reducing inflammation there.

The studies also found that people who ate more trans fats like the kind found in many baked goods were more prone to develop age-related macular degeneration.

And now you know.

Additional Resources:

• More on foods for healthy eyes.
• Read how the Mediterranean diet may preserve memory.

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