Yep that’s it! Our contribution to Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Low Vision Awareness Month.

Eat your greens.( Yes I know it is a bit of an odd picture for a post on vision loss but I wanted to attract your attention to the importance of diet).

It seems that eating more green leafy vegetables can help with age related Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD). It can help slow the progression of dry AMD and help prevent wet AMD according to the UK’s National Health Service.

So what actually is AMD apart from being the most common cause of vision loss in the over 50s? Last year PatientTalk.Org created a “user guide” for macular degeneration. We did this by interviewing Victoria O’Connor and Cathy Yelf (from the Macular Society). O’Connor was representing Boots the Opticians.

You can read the guide here!

So what is the point of this blog apart from raising awareness of AMD? Well quite simple. One of the barriers to actually eating more greens is that on their own they can be a bit boring.

So I’m asking my readers to share their favorite green leafy vegetable recipes in the comments section below. (If you run a food blog or site a link would be grand!)

So in the aid of full transparency (well you know what I mean) let me kick off with one of my favorites. If memory serves I found it originally in the Australian Women’s Weekly but it has been adapted a bit since then.

Baby Spinach Pesto

Makes loads

You need:-

1lb or 450g of baby spinach
2oz or 50g pecan nuts (or really any you like)
Olive oil (say two glugs)
2oz or 50 Pecorino cheese or any hard cheese such as Parmesan. Indeed there are some good vegan option these days.
Two closes of garlic crushed
Juice of a lemons

To prepare? Please the lot in your blender and wizz till you get the consistency you like. You might want to add the nuts during rather than the beginning to the wizzing.

Eat with pasta of on top of a baked eggplant or aubergine!

PS The picture above of Kai-lan or Chinese broccoli. I picked some up in Chinatown in london yesterday. Great steamed with oyster sauce!

PPS Can I also mention that green vegetables could assist with Diabetic retiopathy on Optic Neuritis which is an early symtom of multiple sclerosis.