Health Alert 117
You have heard Vitamin A is good for your eyes. You should not however rely on Vitamin A supplementation. It will not protect your eyes from the leading cause of blindness in the US. Focusing on a single nutrient like Vitamin A or Beta-carotene can deprive your eyes of what they really need.
Today, you’ll learn about exceptional and little-known nutrients that protect your eyes from macular degeneration. And, help keep your vision sharp and clear for the rest of your life.
* The Older You Get … *
Macular degeneration is a deterioration of a portion of the retina. The retina is the backside of the eye. It records images and helps send them to the brain. The central portion of the retina is the macula. This structure is vital to your vision but can gradually waste away with age.
Macular degeneration is a disease of age. Over 25% of Americans over 65 have macular degeneration.1 This rate continues to climb with increasing age. Age related macular degeneration (AMD) affects more Americans than glaucoma and cataracts combined. Vision loss from AMD also increases with age. It may start as blurred vision. From there, the disease escalates.
Straight lines or sentences appear wavy. It becomes difficult to see objects long distance. Fine detail is lost. The ability to distinguish fades. Face recognition becomes a choir. Reading and driving may become impossible. And eventually whole areas of vision disappear.
Poor nutrition is one reason mature people develop AMD. The more we discover about how the eye uses nutrients, the better we can protect it from disease. We now know that there are more important eye nutrients than vitamin A and betacarotene.
These nutrients are carotenoids. They are related to Vitamin A. There are hundreds of carotenoids. They are in fruits and vegetables. Plants use carotenoids to produce energy and protect themselves from oxidation. Carotenoids also provide the pigment for plants. Carotenoids play a special role in your eyes. They destroy free radicals that age and damage cells in the macula.
Important but neglected carotenoids include:
• Alpha carotene
• Cryptoxanthin
• Lutein
• Lycopene
• Zeaxanthin
Mixed carotenoids are many times more potent than Vitamin A or betacarotene alone. Each has a specialized job. Together, they form the ultimate protection for your eyes.
* Your Eyes May Know Best *
The best sources of carotenoids are fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables are natural multivitamins, multiminerals and multiantioxidants. In choosing them, you can use your vision to protect you vision. Choose fruits and vegetable combinations that are pleasing to the eye.
Eat a variety of different colored fruits and veggies everyday. Eat a variety of colors because the type of carotenoid determines the pigment and the health benefits. The more colorful your plate is, the more nutrients you are getting.
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Benefits of Colorful Fruits and Vegetables
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Color
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Foods
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Benefits to the Eye
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Orange and Yellow
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Pumpkin, squash, yellow peppers, carrots, mango, peaches, apricots
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Lutein & other carotenoids protect eye from sun & age damage.
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Red and Pink
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Tomatoes, red peppers, guava, watermelon, grapefruit
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Range of carotenoids and vitamin C, protect eye from free radicals.
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Green
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Broccoli, Zucchini, green peppers, spinach, kale, asparagus, other “greens”
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Potent antioxidants prevent age-related damage of the eye.
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Blue and Purple
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Purple cabbage, eggplant, plums, cherries, blueberries, grapes
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Anthocyanin, which protects the eye from cancer.
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Modern nutritional habits sometimes cheat us of the very nutrients we need to stay healthy. In addition to improving your diet, a few important supplements can help prevent AMD.
Lutein and Zeaxanthin: These carotenoids go hand in hand to prevent and treat AMD. They are the most potent combination of carotenoids I know of. Lutein and Zeaxanthin are naturally present in the retina, and highly concentrated in the macula. Take 20mg of lutein and 10mg of zeaxanthin daily to increase pigment density.
Tocopherols and Vitamin C: Here is another pair of potent eye protectors. Both vitamin C and tocopherols (types of vitamin E) are powerful free radical destroyers. I recommend 400 IU of tocopherols a day. For antioxidant amounts of Vitamin C, I recommend 500 mg twice a day. Take it with food to avoid an upset stomach. Each of these supplements is available at health food stores.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears MD
1 Vanden Langenberg G. et al., Associations between antioxidant and zinc intake and the 5-year incidence of early age-related maculopathy in the Beaver Dam Eye Study. Am J Epidemiol 1998; 148: 204-214