It is estimated that over 100 million people worldwide will go blind this year. Cataracts and aged-related macular degeneration - the two leading causes of eyesight loss in this country - will rob over 33 million Americans of their vision. While there have been major advances in the treatment of cataracts (with the use of procedures such as lens replacement), modern medicine has little to offer the 13 million people who are going blind from macular degeneration. Ironically, new studies show that those who have had lens replacement to combat cataracts are actually increasing their risk of developing age-related macular degeneration by 3.8 times. And the link seems to involve a very common condition: chronic inflammation within the eye. Once again, we are seeing that chronic inflammation - and the free radical generation and lipid peroxidation associated with it - plays a major role in a disease. While traditional medicine (which greatly relies on pharmacological and surgical remedies) can do little in terms of preventing and treating these diseases, nutritional science has a lot to offer. In fact, a considerable amount of evidence indicates that both of these diseases are caused by poor nutrition.