Taking B vitamins can prevent a type of vision loss common in older women. So says a recent study out of Brigham University and Women’s Hospital in Boston. According to the study, women taking a combination of B-6, folic acid, and B-12 reduced their risk of developing age-related macular degeneration by one-third. The researchers believe the results can be extrapolated to men as well.

Macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness in people 65 and older, causing a layer of the eye to deteriorate, blurring the center of the field of vision and making it difficult to recognize faces, read and drive. There is no known cure for this condition, so prevention is the key, and in that regard B vitamins are it.

I’ve been pushing B vitamins pretty heavily for a decade. I know how crucial they are for good health. Not only do the B vitamins prevent many nasty disorders like anemia, depression and hypertension, but they also increase energy; and now we know that they can help also stop age-related blindness. Not bad for simple nutrients.

If you are not supplementing with B vitamins now, I strongly suggest you start. B vitamins are just too powerful to ignore.