Macular degeneration is a condition that affects your ability to read, drive and recognize faces. This condition occurs from damage to the rods and cones, the light-receiving cells that make up the macula, an area of tissue at the back of your eye. Once the disease damages your vision, treatments do not usually improve the condition. As a result, prevention plays an essential part in eye health. Antioxidants, such as those in pomegranate juice, may offer some benefits.
Pomegranate Juice
Pomegranate is a fruit purported to have many benefits to human health. Some manufacturers make pomegranate juice, a common way to intake the fruit. Pomegranates provide a rich source of antioxidants, nutrients that help protect cells from damage. Eating pomegranates or drinking the juice will not improve your vision or reverse damage from macular degeneration. But the antioxidants could offer some benefit in preventing this eye disease.
Studies
In a 2001 study, the National Eye Institute evaluated the benefit of certain nutrients, including vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin C and zinc in the prevention of macular degeneration. The study determined that high doses of these nutrients could reduce the risk of advanced disease by about 25 percent. The recommended daily amounts of these nutrients include 25,000 International Units, or IU, of vitamin A, 400 IU of vitamin E, 500 mg of vitamin C and 80 mg of zinc. The study also recommends an additional 2 mg of copper to prevent a deficiency that can result when you have high zinc intakes.
Prevention
Pomegranate juice does not contain the recommended amounts of the nutrients studied by the National Eye Institute, but the product does provide a significant source of vitamin C. Pomegranate juice also contains vitamin E and zinc, but pomegranate does not provide vitamin A. As a result, even if you drink pomegranate juice, your doctor may still recommend that you take a daily vitamin that contains the recommended dose of nutrients for eye health.
Considerations
Pomegranate juice alone cannot prevent macular degeneration, but the nutrients provided may have some benefits. If you choose to drink pomegranate juice regularly, keep in mind that the juice product may contain a significant amount of added sugar, and thus may not be the healthiest choice. This is particularly true if you have diabetes or have risks for the disease and need to control your blood glucose levels.
References
- National Eye Institute: Facts About Age-Related Macular Degeneration; September 2009
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Pomegranate; Steven D. Ehrlich, NMD; December 2009
- "Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry;" M.I. Gil, et al.; October 2000
- USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory: Pomegranate Juice
- National Eye Institute: The AREDS Formulation and Age-Related Macular Degeneration; October 2003
