March 12, 2019 - Macular Degeneration
Hi folks, it’s Dr. Sam. We’ve been receiving a lot of questions lately on what can be done to prevent or reverse both wet and dry macular degeneration.
In other videos, I’ve talked about the importance of eating foods that contain carotenoids because they protect our macula and improve retinal health. These include lutein, zeaxanthin, and astaxanthin.
Today I want to offer another ingredient – iodine.
I’m going to point you to a study that was done in 2014 published in The Journal of Ophthalmology. Researchers asked the question “does urinary iodine affect our macular health?”
This was an observational, cross-sectional study. They took 212 adults between the ages of 18 and 69 that were diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, which is a condition where you lose your peripheral vision. These people also had cystoid macular edema, which means the macula was swelling.
They monitored these patients by measuring their visual acuity at distance and took photographs of their macula. They found that people who had higher levels of urinary iodine had healthier macula, less edema, and less swelling.
So there may be a correlation between low iodine levels and macular health.
Now, what foods contain iodine? Well, things like norie, seaweed, and if you eat animal products, cod and pasture fed eggs.
So let’s put iodine on the radar screen as something else we want to have checked by our doctors, and it could be added to our diet as a way to naturally improve macular health.
That’s my message for today. Thank you so much for tuning in. And until next time, take good care.
Recommended: Macular Degeneration: Causes and Natural Therapies