A low fat diet may reduce the risk of macular degeneration. A diet with as little as 10% of calories from fat has been suggested with avoidance of red meat and dairy products. Avoidance of margarine and other hydrogenated (trans) oils is especially important in wet macular degeneration.
Beneficial sources of Essential Fatty Acids (EFA) include Efacom, Evening Primrose Oil (EPO), EPA, DHA, Borage, Flax, Hemp seed (organic) and Black currant oils.
It can take 6 months to a year to clear up effects of hydrogenated oils after they are eliminated from the diet. Increased EFAs and reduced trans, hydrogenated, rancid and oxidized fats in the diet may help to reduce drusen formation, or perhaps permit long term reduction in accumulated deposits since EFAs loosen the structure of fat soluble cell membranes, while cholesterol, for example increases rigidity.
Soft drusen are hydrophobic deposits of apparently indigestible fats.
