Nutrients & HealthThe Nutrients that Best Protect Your Vision

by Victor Marchione, MD 08/07/2009

Protecting and preserving your vision as you grow older requires a bounty of nutrients that do it for eye healthyou naturally. In the grocery store, head for the produce aisles. Keeping your diet full of colorful fruits and vegetables could help keep the eyes strong. Greens, oranges, reds, yellows — the more colorful the produce is, the better it is for your eyesight.

For example, two “carotenoid” nutrients are at the top of any list for eyesight. They are lutein and zeaxanthin, found in a variety of vegetables, including dark green salad greens. Heard of carrots being good for eyesight? It’s because they are brimming with beta-carotene (providing the orange color). What does the body turn beta-carotene into? Vitamin A, which is needed by your eyes for healthy functioning. These are only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the incredible antioxidant nutrients found naturally in fruits and vegetables.

That said, supplements are also a good idea for those who wish to ramp up their vision protection or for anyone who may be at greater risk for conditions such as cataracts and macular degeneration (or who perhaps are already forming one of these conditions).

Here are some additional vision-aiding supplements that also work great. Topping the list are lutein and zeaxanthin, found in any health store. People who have high levels of these nutrients in their bodies have been found to have a much lower risk of cataracts and of macular degeneration.1-3 Aim for 10 mg a day of each.1-3

Both vitamin A and vitamin C are excellent supplement ideas (at daily doses of 2,000 IU and 500 mg, respectively). Bilberry is a very common supplement for vision, as it contains a flavonoid that may help protect against cataracts. Studies have mostly homed in on its ability to improve night vision.4 Take 120 mg twice a day.

Two other supplements to round out your best choices are zinc (a mineral found in each retina naturally) and pine bark extract — 20 mg and 50 mg, respectively.

By giving your eyes the nutrients they need, you’ll go a long way in preventing the onset of age-related vision loss.

References

  1. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2002;75: 540-9.
  2. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 1999: 70: 517-24.
  3. JAMA 1994: 272: 1,413-20.
  4. MediHerb Prof. Rev. 1997; 59:1-4.

[Ed. Note: Dr. Victor Marchione has been practicing medicine in New York and New Jersey for over 20 years and is a respected leader in the field of nutrition, smoking cessation and pulmonary medicine. He has been featured on ABC News, CBS Evening News, and the NBC Today Show. He is also the chief formulator of the Red Wine Pill from Bel Marra Nutritionals.]

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2 Responses to “The Nutrients that Best Protect Your Vision”

  1. Michelle Says:

    Contact lense implants that are a constant irritant, can they be removed permanently without harm or must they be replaced?

    Entered: August 7th, 2009 at 1:20 pm. Permalink
  2. Michael Edson, MS, L.Ac. Says:

    As people continue to live longer, the incidence of eye disease such as macular degeneration is on the rise. These types of debilitating eye diseases rob people of vision, and can result in individuals losing their independence.

    It is believed that the visal system requires up to 25% of the nutrients we take into our bodies in order to stay healthy. Impaired circulation and/or poor absorption of nutrients can significantly contribute to eye disease. Regular exercise and management of emotional stress are also critical for maintaining health.

    Eye conditions/diseases such as macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, cataracts and may others can be responsive to specific nutritional supplementation

    For example. there is a great deal of peer review research now showing the vision can be preserved through a proper diet and specific nutritional supplementation, and that macular degeneration is a nutritionally responsive eye disease.

    The recent B vitamin study showing that those that supplement with B6, B12 and folic acid have a significant lower risk of getting macular degeneration is one of many studies proving macular degeneration to be a nutritionally responsive eye disease.

    Archives of Ophthalmology recently published a meta analysis on omega-3 fatty acid and fish intake and its effect on the prevention of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
    This study identified 274 abstracts, 3 prospective cohort, 3 case-control, and 3 cross-sectional studies.

    Using quantitative methods, a high dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids was associated with a 38% reduction in the risk of late AMD. Fish intake (2x per week) was associated with reduced risk of early and late AMD.

    More omega-3 and AMD specific studies need to be conducted to further investigate omega-3¹s effect on AMD.

    Ref: Arch Ophthalmol. 2008;126(6):826-833.

    Essential nutrients include lutein, zeaxanthin, omega-3 fatty acids, taurine, gingko biloba, lycopene, vitamin A, E, zinc, copper, selenium for example, that can help both prevent the onset of eye disease such as macular degeneration as well as help preserve vision for those with macular degeneration.

    For more information on nutrition and macular degeneration and related research studies, go to http://www.naturaleyecare.com

    Entered: August 9th, 2009 at 11:48 pm. Permalink

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