Poor diet puts vision at risk

Experts have warned that poor diet and unhealthy lifestyles in the UK are a threat to public eye health.

With a Department of Health survey finding that just a quarter of adults eat the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, many were said to be at higher risk of developing macular degeneration and other common eye diseases.

Dr John Nolan, principal investigator of the Macular Pigment Research Group at the Waterford Institute of Technology, said: 'Dietary nutrients such as lutein, zeaxanthin and meso-zeaxanthin are crucial for the formation of a yellow pigment that protects the macula by absorbing omnipresent blue light emitted by the sun, car headlights, TVs, computers screens and the like.