By Age 80, Half of All North Americans Will Deal with Cataracts
Symptoms include cloudy vision, problems with night vision, halos or glare around lights and double vision. Surgery is effective 90 percent of the time: After using minimally invasive techniques that remove the old lens, the surgeon inserts a clear, new plastic lens.
But whatever your age, you can delay or prevent cataracts. Eat a vegetable-rich diet high in antioxidants: Blueberries, beans, artichokes and apples are superstars – as are any foods with beta carotene (carrots), vitamin C (citrus fruits), vitamin E mixed tocopherols (nuts), lutein (spinach), lycopene (tomatoes) and selenium (Brazil nuts). Also, a multivitamin with DHA (the key component in fish oils) seems to protect your sight, so aim for 900 milligrams of DHA a day. You can it get from algal oil supplements. And wear 100 percent UVA- and UVB-blocking sunglasses.
– Dr. Michael Roizen & Dr. Mehmet Oz
