Dr. Joseph Allen

Most people who take omega-3 supplements never reach the level shown to support heart, brain, and eye health. The fix is to measure your Omega-3 Index in blood, not guess from doses on a bottle. Plant-based ALA converts inefficiently to EPA and DHA in most people, making marine sources a more reliable way to increase long-chain omega-3 levels.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is damage to the macula, the central part of the retina that gives you sharp, detailed vision, and it usually develops with age. It helps to separate three different questions: preventing AMD, slowing its progression, and restoring vision that is already lost, because they have very different answers. Some types, especially wet (neovascular) AMD, have established treatments, most often medicines injected into the eye that block a signal called VEGF, which drives abnormal, leaky blood vessels; these can slow or stop further vision loss and sometimes improve it. For certain people with intermediate or more advanced AMD, specific supplement formulas (studied as AREDS2) can lower the risk of progression, though they do not cure or reverse it. Newer ideas like red light and vision brain-training are being studied but are not yet proven, and a healthy diet supports eye health without being a treatment.