3 Simple B Vitamins Reduce Your Risk of Macular Degenetation

Macular degeneration may not be as well known as cataracts or glaucoma, but it is one of the leading causes of blindness in people over fifty-five. It is the leading cause of severe, irreversible vision loss in older Americans. The macula is the area of the retina responsible for fine vision. When it degenerates, central vision and fine details degenerate with it. But researchers out of Harvard have shown that something as simple, safe and inexpensive as B vitamins can reduce the risk of this happening to you. . . .

Homocysteine is a toxic compound that is a well established risk factor for heart disease. Less known is that it is also associated with age-related macular degeneration (ARM). The B vitamins B6, folic acid and B12 are effective at lowering homocysteine. So, the researchers explored the possibility that that group of B vitamins could also lower the risk of AMD.

So they conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled study that included over 5,000 women who did not already have AMD but did have either heart disease or three or more risk factors for heart disease. The women were all forty years old or older. Some were given a placebo, but some were given 2.5mg of folic acid, 50mg of 6 and 1mg of B12 a day for an average of 7.3 years.

At the end of the study there was a significant 44% reduction in the risk of AMD in the B vitamin group. There was a significant 41% reduction in risk in what the researchers called “visually significant AMD”. The benefit of the B vitamins began to appear at about two years for AMD and at about four years for visually significant AMD. So, to receive the preventative benefit of the B vitamins, they need to be taken long term.

Since the B vitamins reduced homocysteine by 18.5% in a subset of women who had their homocysteine tested, it is possible that the B vitamins reduced the risk of AMD by reducing the level of homocysteine.

This study is large and placebo-controlled and suggests an easy approach to preventing a serious and common cause of blindness.

Arch Intern Med 2009;169:335-41

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For much more on preventing and treating macular degeneration, see our book, The Family Naturopathic Encyclopedia.