Obviously, nutritional deficit is just one of many factors influencing the course of the disease and age and genetics are still the most significant. Having said that, advice about smoking cessation, avoidance of exposure to short wavelength light and good nutrition is all useful.
I have always been cautious in my approach and play down the ‘eat yourself to good sight’ claims broadcast by some media outlets. However, the body of evidence is now such that, as well as my traditional approach of offering advice about significantly increasing the intake of green vegetables, I usually recommend supplementation to patients with existing maculopathy. The advice is never clear cut as many of my elderly patients have some difficulties in assimilating new lifestyle adaptations. However, many a meta-analysis has implied that values of 6-14mg per day of lutein (L) and 2mg per day of zeaxanthin (Z) are warranted and this is usually way above what might be expected from even the most veggie friendly patient.
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