A diet high in omega three oils can lower the risk of developing age related macular degeneration, American research has found.

At least 500,000 people in Britain are affected by macular degeneration, a condition where cells in the back of the eye degrade causing loss of central vision.

A study carried out by experts at the National Eye Institute in Bethesda, in America, found that mice fed a diet high in omega three oils had slower progression of the leisons in the eye and some improvement.

Dr Chi Chan, lead author said the team are now working on new treatments that might delay the onset of macular degeneration.

It is though the fish oils work by reducing inflammation levels.

Earlier research has found that a diet rich in omega three, found in mackerel and salmon, can reduce the risk of developing macular degeneration by a third in humans. Progression of advanced disease was 25 per cent less likely in those eating two portions of oily fish a week, according to the research carried out at Tufts University in Boston, America.

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