Macular degeneration causes vision loss and for many people, the progression of the disease can lead to blindness. This condition occurs when the cells break down in your macular tissue, located in the center of the back of your eye. You may experience gradual loss of central vision, or the disease may strike quickly. Prevention is key since treatments often do not help restore vision, and the makeup of muscadine grapes may offer some protection.
Muscadine Grapes
Grapes come in a multitude of varieties, and the muscadine grape is one type. This variety produces a large globe of fruit with a thick skin that makes eating the grape less appetizing for many grape-eaters, but producers use muscadines for juice and jams, as well as other grape products. Manufacturers also use the "waste" produced during processing, which consists of the skins and seeds, in other food products such as cereals.
Antioxidants
Muscadine grapes have a high content of resveratrol, an antioxidant shown to have health benefits, including the prevention of age-related macular degeneration. Grape seeds themselves contain antioxidants as well, and supplement manufacturers will take the nutrients from the seeds and make an extract. Users of grape seed extract claim this product offers a number of health benefits, including cancer prevention and treatment for high cholesterol, and doctors may also recommend grape seed extract as a supplement for macular degeneration prevention.
Other Prevention
To reduce your risk for macular degeneration, your doctor will recommend that you stop smoking and eat a diet rich in healthful foods such as leafy green vegetables and fatty fish such as salmon. Maintaining a healthy weight and exercising regularly may also help reduce your risk for the disease. You cannot eliminate certain risk factors such as age and family history, but taking other precautions may help you keep good vision.
Considerations
If you have risk factors for macular degeneration, talk to your doctor about the benefits of using muscadine grape seeds or other grape seed extract as a way to take in high doses of antioxidants. Your doctor will consider your overall health to determine if this supplement could benefit you, and, if so, she will recommend an appropriate dosage.
References
- National Eye Institute; Facts About Age-Related Macular Degeneration; September 2009
- California Rare Fruit Growers: Muscadine Grape
- U.S. Department of Agriculture; Muscadine Grapes: A New Health Food and an Alternative Crop; Doris Stanley; November 1997
- "Journal of Ocular Pharmacology and Therapeutics"; Resveratrol Protects Human Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells From Acrolein-Induced Damage; S.J. Sheu et al.; June 2010
- National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Grape Seed Extract
