Simple Steps Help Protect Baby Boomers’Vision (NAPSA)—Americans spend more than $20 billion each year on eye cosmetics and enhancements, butlittle is spent on preserving eye health—something doctors say people need to makea priority. Aging baby boomers, the largest segment of the U.S. population, are especially vulnerable to eye-related diseases that can lead to vision loss. Onesuch disease, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), is a leading cause of blindness and severe vision loss for people over 50 and affects nearly 15 million Americans. The onset ofAMD happensgradually and people cannot detect the disease without the help of a physician. Without early detection and propernutrition,it will destroy the sharp, central vision necessary for reading, driving, identifying faces and performingother daily tasks we often regard as second nature. “Eyes need sustenance to stay healthy in the same way that bones need calcium,” said Dr. Michael Cooney, a New York City ophthalmologist who has done extensive research into eye health and AMD. “The correct amount of vitamins and minerals, including lutein and omega-3s, is vital to eye health.” @ Leading research institutions have linked eye nutrition with the prevention of age-related eye diseases such as AMD. For example, the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) conducted by the National Institutes of Health proved that a high-potency supplement containing anti-oxidants and zine slowed the progression of AMD in patients who already had the disease. A recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association also suggests that nutritional supplements are important in protecting your eye health. Eye vitamins, such as Ocuvite from Bausch & Lomb, contain the needed nutrients to keep eyes healthy and sharp. The product was one of the first vitamin and mineral supplement brands designed specifically to provide key nutrients to the eyes. Bausch & Lomb helps spread the word on AMD and it continues to be the brand recommended by eye care professionals. Visit www.bausch.com or www.dontlosesight.org for additional information on the eye vitamin and AMD.
