The macula-about the size of a pencil eraser-is a tiny, yellowish area near the centre of the retina that allows you to clearly distinguish fine detail.

Macular degeneration is the slow deterioration of the cells in the macula, which affects your central vision, the vision you use for reading, writing, driving, and identifying faces. In some people, AMD advances so slowly that it will have little effect on their vision as they age. But in others, the disease progresses faster and may lead to a loss of vision in one or both eyes.

There are two kinds, the dry type and the wet type: 90 percent of people have the dry type, in which small, yellow spots called drusen form underneath the macula. Scientists are still not sure what causes dry AMD. Studies suggest that an area of the retina becomes diseased, leading to the slow breakdown of the light-sensing cells in the macula and a gradual loss of central vision. Dry macular degeneration can progress to the second, more severe type called wet macular degeneration.

Although only 10 percent of all people with AMD have the wet type, it accounts for 90 percent of all blindness from the disease. As dry AMD worsens, new blood vessels may begin to grow and cause "wet" AMD. These new blood vessels tend to be very fragile, and they often leak blood and fluid under the macula, which further deteriorates the macula, causing rapid and severe vision loss.

Eating lutein- and zeaxanthin-rich foods or taking supplements of these carotenoids can restore macular pigment density, which declines with age. In fact, one such study of AMD patients who were taking high-dose lutein supplements (4 mg or more per day) experienced normal levels after a few months.

An important case-control study by researchers at the University of Florida, found that healthy eating that includes diets rich in lutein and zeaxanthin could lower the risk of AMD as much as 82% compared with those outside that group. (Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2001 Jan;42(1)235-40).

The best way to ensure you are getting Zeaxanthin and Lutein is to take Ethos Bright Eyes CAPSULES.