Medical Reports: Eye on Food

WSVN -- Michelle Shulman can see all the letters on this chart, but, in the future, things might not look the same.

Michelle Shulman: "You take for granted when you can see."

Macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness, runs in her family.

Which means she has a good chance of losing her sight.

Michelle Shulman: "There's family history both with my mother and my grandmother, so, because of that, it really was something that was brought to my attention."

Macular degeneration causes cells in the eye to break down, decreasing your ability to see clear and sharp.

Dr. Barry Kay: "There's no specific treatment to cure it. Once the damage is done, it's done."

But new studies show certain foods can help delay that damage.

Some of the key nutrients you need: Antioxidents.

Dr. Barry Kay: "Examples of antioxidants would be things like orange juice, vitamin C -- papaya is very high in vitamin C."

Lutein, which can be found in green leafy vegetables like spinach.

Dr. Barry Kay: "Your beta carotene, such as your carrots and your sweet potatoes."

And don't forget zinc.

Dr. Barry Kay: "Zinc is probably one of the toughest ones. Seafood, oysters are high in zinc."

Dr. Kay has even come up with some quick meals that are a feast for the eyes.

One meal includes salmon, sweet potatoes and sauteed spinach with almonds.

And, for dessert, strawberries drizzled with balsamic to add a final punch of vitamin C.

Michelle's been adding some of these foods to her diet and now has her eyes set on a bright future.

Michelle Shulman: "It's so when I get my children who are just so young now, it will be nice to see and enjoy their children."

Doctors also say not smoking and protecting your eyes from UV rays will cut down on your risk of getting macular degeneration.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Dr. Barry Kay
Hollywood Eyes
2011 Harrison St.
Hollywood, FL 33020
954-923-5367