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Eating plenty of salmon, sardines and mackerel may protect against sight loss, new research reveals.
A chemical in oily fish boosts the survival of cells that are critical to vision, protecting against age-related sight decline, a United States (U.S.) study found.
Omega-3 oils ‘precondition’ cells in the eye to withstand ‘stress’, such as a loss of blood supply, according to researchers.
The discovery, published in the journal Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology, could lead to new treatments for a host of degenerative diseases of the retina.
In laboratory tests, human eye cells exposed to constant light withstand damage if they are supplemented with such oils, the research adds.
Results reveal the omega-3 fatty acid DHA, which is abundant in oily fish, ‘preconditions’ different types of retinal cells to be able to withstand ‘stress’, such as their blood supply being cut off.
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