A clinical perspective, published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology,1 has concluded that a Mediterranean-style diet is associated with slower progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) across all stages.
The published perspective aimed to summarise “relevant data on what individuals with [AMD] should eat and to propose simple, evidence-based, dietary and micronutrient supplement guidelines that can be shared with patients and physicians”.
The authors concluded that across disease stages, closer adherence to a Mediterranean diet is consistently associated with substantially slower AMD progression.
“In AREDS, individuals with early AMD who adhered more closely to a Mediterranean diet were significantly less likely to develop intermediate AMD. In AREDS/AREDS2 participants with intermediate AMD, higher Mediterranean diet adherence was strongly associated with decreased risk of progression to late AMD, especially for geographic atrophy (GA).
“Specific dietary components were particularly influential: higher fish intake was most protective, followed by higher vegetable and lower red meat intake.”
The authors said diet should be viewed as a complement to – rather than a substitute for – AREDS2 supplementation.
For people with geographic atrophy (GA), a Mediterranean diet – particularly with a higher intake of fruit and vegetables, a lower intake of red meat, and avoidance of heavy alcohol consumption, was “associated with markedly slower GA enlargement, including slower expansion towards the fovea”.
The authors said that supplementation with micronutrients based on the AREDS2 formula “decreased progression to late AMD for individuals with intermediate AMD (or advanced disease in one eye) and slowed expansion of extrafoveal GA towards the fovea”. The review found no evidence supporting oral micronutrient supplements for patients with early AMD.
The authors said diet should be viewed as a complement to – rather than a substitute for – AREDS2 supplementation.
The published perspective is a focused literature review, based largely on post hoc analyses of the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) and AREDS2 cohorts as well as major epidemiologic and cohort studies in Europe and North America, so the authors note that findings describe associations rather than demonstrating that dietary change prevents progression.1
References
- Keenan TDL, Hébert M, Chew EY, Johnson MW. What should patients with age-related macular degeneration eat? Am J Ophthalmol. 2026 Aug;288:12-21. doi: 10.1016/j.ajo.2026.04.003.
