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How to help your eyes age well

September 30, 2022 3 Comments

A minor scare about eye health this summer: my optician thought she’d spotted a micro-aneurysm in my right eye. I have eye scans using optomap wide-angle camera imaging every four years because decades of staring at small screens in my TV career, plus long hours on the computer to coach and write now, have not been kind to my eyes. I also have a family history of age-related macular degeneration plus a genetic predisposition to the condition. The micro-aneurysm, while not a problem in itself, had not been apparent when I was last scanned in 2018, so needed to be investigated. My optician’s notes read, ‘It is important to note that there is a recognised association between retinal vessel changes and subsequent cardiovascular and cerebrovascular morbidity’. Enough to make this Age Well-er quake in her boots.

ADVICE FROM A NEURO-OPTHALMOLOGIST

After a three-month wait I got an appointment at a Moorfields eye hospital outpost in South London. It was all fantastically efficient. I, and many others, were shunted in and out of various treatment rooms where drops were applied, tests were done and results given. The eye drops vastly expanded my irises, meaning everything was simultaneously overly-bright and hazily blurred. This rendered the whole experience mildly hallucinogenic. But I was rewarded with two minutes with a neuro-ophthalmologist who assured me there was no evidence of a micro-aneurysm. He thought my optician had most likely spotted a micro-haemorrhage which had subsequently healed up.

Good news, of course. But what can we do to look after our eyes? It’s not every day we get time with a neuro-opthalmologist, so I fired questions at him on your behalf. He advised:

  • Close your eyes for five minutes at the end of every hour of screen time. That’s a lot – I’ve been trying, and while it’s nice to have a break, it does feel like a long time!
  • Use hydrating eye drops four times a day as screen work leads to evaporation from the eye’s surface. I’ve bought preservative-free ones from Amazon. A.Vogel Eye Drops Extra are my favourite so far.
  • Don’t overthink it. A healthy diet and exercise make a huge difference to eye health, don’t get caught up in the minutiae.

EYE HEALTH AND DEMENTIA RISK

The importance of looking after eye health as we age can’t be overestimated: this summer a case was made to add vision impairment to the list of modifiable risk factors for dementia. It’s estimated that 1.8% of dementia cases can be linked to sight issues. That’s not a huge number but with 10 million new cases of dementia each year, and around 90% of vision impairment preventable or treatable, it’s a relatively easy fix. And with no effective drug for Alzheimer’s on the market, there’s more and more emphasis on modifiable risk factors (doctor-speak for ‘things we can do something about’).

Further evidence in the form of new research linking cataract surgery with reduced dementia risk. Cataracts have a direct effect on the brain, as they reduce visual stimulation and make the patient more isolated – both of which erode cognitive resilience. But after cataract surgery dementia risk returns to normal.

GOOD NUTRITION AND EYE HEALTH

A research review also published this summer looked at carotenoids (antioxidants which give vegetables their colour) and their impact on women’s eye and brain health. It found that high intake of the nutrients lutein and zeaxanthin (from leafy greens and yellow vegetables like corn) is linked to lower risk of macular degeneration and cataracts.

We’ve written before about links between good eye health and nutrition. Annabel posted back in 2015 on the topic – and shared a fabulous freekeh recipe to go with it; I shared more nutrition and lifestyle tips back in 2020. And Annabel would like me to remind you about the importance of ‘vista vision’ for eye health – she wrote about it here.

FREE INTERVIEW SERIES: UNSHAKEABLE RESILIENT WOMEN

I was thrilled when the wonderful Linda Legras invited me to be part of an interview series specifically for midlife women. The series was born out of her desire to help women in perimenopause, menopause and beyond to confidently take charge of their health and changing bodies. It all kicks off on October 10th.

Over 21 days, you’ll meet amazing women who are passionate experts in their fields and who share stories, expertise and resources to help women as they age. My interview – October 21st – is about brain health and ageing well (of course), but there are so many other fascinating topics from pelvic floor health to journaling.

It’s all completely free and you can register using this link. 

 

Susan

  • Conditions: Eyes
« WHY LIVER HELPS US AGE WELL
HOW TO TIPPLE IN SOBER OCTOBER »

Comments

  1. Diana says

    September 30, 2022 at 9:53 am

    Hi Susan,

    What about Vitamin A and eye health? Just wondering.

    Also, I wonder if you could do some research into “dry mouth” as this appears to be an ageing issue.

    Many thanks for all your great work.

    Diana

    Reply
    • Susan Saunders says

      October 3, 2022 at 9:37 am

      Thanks for your comments Diana. Vitamin A is indeed very important for eye health but most of us get enough from a healthy diet – eating plenty of green leafy veg, plus orange and red vegetables like sweet potato, carrots, red pepper etc should give us enough.

      Good point re dry mouth – I’m just about to start researching it for my next book on post-menopausal health as it seems to be linked to low oestrogen levels. I’ll report back!

      Reply

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Welcome to The Age-Well Project

Welcome to The Age-Well Project!
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Susan was lucky enough to spend a day at the olive Susan was lucky enough to spend a day at the olive harvest at Bidni Extra Virgin Olive Oil @bidni_evoo in Malta in late September. Fresh from the press, the oil was pretty peppery! That’s the polyphenols at work.

Polyphenol levels in olive oil also play a vital role in its brain boosting properties. They help reduce neuroinflammation and slow cognitive decline.

A study presented at a conference this summer by Harvard School of Public Health looked at the cognition of more than 90,000 people over 30 years. It found that those who consumed half a tablespoon of olive oil each day, as opposed to mayonnaise or margarine, had a 28%  lower risk of dying from dementia. Interestingly, this research found that the brain benefits of olive oil held up, regardless of the quality of the rest of the participants’ diet. So even those who didn’t adhere to other guidelines of the Mediterranean diet still got the benefits from the oil.

There’s more on the blog - link in bio

#womenover50 #over50andfit #womenover60 #postmenopause #postmenopausalwomen #postmenopausalhealth 
#brainhealth #alzheimers #reducedementiarisk #cognitivehealth  #agewell #longevity #ageingwell #agingwell #longevity #EVOO
Two new pieces of research you need to know about Two new pieces of research you need to know about if you want to age well: 

1️⃣ the kynurenine pathway. It’s complicated but high levels of it don’t bode well for ageing well. Several studies have found that older people, those who’ve had hip fractures, the frail, as well as the depressed have higher circulating levels of kynurenine.  Indeed the more kynurenine in your blood, the greater your chances of dying sooner rather than later. High levels of kynurenine also seem to be associated with low levels of melatonin and serotonin – meaning both poorer sleep and a greater risk of depression.

New research has identified a very simple way of blocking the accumulation of kynurenine (and its toxic by-products) in our blood and tissues: regular, heart-beat-raising movement.

2️⃣ Platelet Factor 4 (PF4). This compound appears to keep our brains and memories sharp. And it too is released when we move. Discovered by a team from the University of Queensland Brain Institute, PF4 is a protein secreted by the tiny blood cells that prevent blood clotting (known as platelets). This protein rejuvenates brain cells (neurons) in ageing mice, and researchers now think it may be the reason that exercise  and movement amplify the production of new neurons in the brain.

Want more info? It’s on the blog - link in bio 

#womenover50 #over50andfit #womenover60 #postmenopause #postmenopausalwomen #postmenopausalhealth 
#brainhealth #alzheimers #reducedementiarisk #cognitivehealth  #agewell #longevity #ageingwell #agingwell #longevity
In today’s Observer: Check out our top tips for In today’s Observer: Check out our top tips for caring for ourselves and our parents. Take a multi vit for 50+, persevere with technology and/or try something new every day, walk daily, stay social, consume sufficient protein, supplement with vits D and B12… 

#agewell #healthyaging
Autumn giveaway! 🍂 We’ve got a bundle of two Autumn giveaway! 🍂

We’ve got a bundle of two books to give away here on Insta - one copy of The Age-Well Project and one of 52 Ways to Walk. 

To win, simply leave a comment below letting us know your favorite landscape for autumn and winter walks. Do you like hills, mountains, flatlands, canals, rivers, coastlines, cities, cemeteries, your local park, moorland...? Just a few words to tell us where you’d most like to be walking in the next few months to help you age well. 

The competition closes at midnight BST on 18 October and a winner will be selected at random.

And in case you’re wondering why Annabel’s interested in your favourite landscape, it’s because she’s writing a new book about the places we choose to walk in and how they affect us. So she’d love to get a rough idea of the best-loved locations… all in confidence, of course.

Good luck!

#womenover50 #over50andfit #womenover60 #postmenopause #postmenopausalwomen #postmenopausalhealth 
#brainhealth #alzheimers #reducedementiarisk #cognitivehealth  #agewell #longevity #ageingwell #agingwell #giveaway #womenwhohike #womenwhowalk
Look, we know not many people have round-the-clock Look, we know not many people have round-the-clock access to a sauna. But Susan found one in a hotel she was staying at recently, there’s one in our local gym and Annabel found plenty on her summer holiday in Finland. 

A growing number of studies attest to the longevity-enhancing benefits of routine forays into a sauna. Much of the research has been instigated in Finland where sauna (pronounced to rhyme with downer) has existed forever.

So how does sauna help us age well? The extreme heat activates heat shock proteins which researchers think can maintain the healthy functioning of our cells.  As we get older, the proteins in some of our cells start to misfold and collapse. They then clump together forming plaques, including the plaques thought to cause Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Heat shock proteins – triggered by a sauna stint and possibly by hot baths – appear to prevent the misfolding and collapsing of cellular proteins, as well as clearing out those that have already misfolded. Which is to say they keep our cells in good shape. 

There’s more on the blog - link in bio 

#womenover50 #over50andfit #womenover60 #postmenopause #postmenopausalwomen #postmenopausalhealth 
#brainhealth #alzheimers #reducedementiarisk #cognitivehealth #betterbrainhealth #brainfog  #agewell #longevity #ageingwell #agingwell
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