Easy Steps That Can Save Your Sight

What are you setting your sights on? No matter what you're looking for, you'll see it better for a long time to come if you make two healthy moves. Both help spare you from age-related macular degeneration (AMD), one of the most common causes of vision loss in Westerners over age 50.

• Step it up. People who hit the walking trail at least three times a week are less likely than exercise slackers to develop wet AMD, which can smudge out central vision. Wet AMD is an advanced form of AMD, and it happens when rogue blood vessels grow under the macula -- the part of your eye right in the center of the retina. These new vessels aren't the sturdiest, and they tend to leak fluid. Like a burst pipe under the expensive new flooring you just put down, this situation can mean big trouble. In your eye, leaks raise the macula, causing permanent damage there. And while it might take just 3 days a week of walking to chase off AMD, the rest of your body needs you to walk for at least 30 minutes every day. No excuses.


• Stop by the supermarket. And pick up some trout or salmon (and eat it). People who consumed the most omega-3 fats -- those are the healthy fats in fish -- were 30% less likely to progress to advanced AMD over 12 years than people who consumed the least. The rest of your body loves fish, too: Omega-3s also help reduce the risk of heart attacks, strokes, Alzheimer's disease, and more.