Improve Your Vision Now!
VITAMIN A
One interesting study involved 10,000 pregnant women diagnosed with nightblindness.
Those women who took their vitamin A supplements during pregnancy had
a reduction of incidence of nightblindness by 67 percent. - J Nutr 1998
Sep; 128 (9): p1458-63.
LUTEIN
A recent study has reported that when lutein was added to the diets of
people with (dry) age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), there were striking
improvements in visual functions - a reversal of vision loss! Another carotenoid
related to Lutein is zeaxanthin. Both of these antioxidants are concentrated
in the eye and filter out blue light that can damage a part of the eye called
the macula. When there is a deficiency of these nutrients, the risk of developing
ARMD is increased. Presently, researchers are putting a good deal of faith
into lutein as a natural means of improving ARMD.
- Lutein Information Bureau.
QUERCITIN
Cataract results from oxidative damage to the lens. This study show that
low concentrations of quercitin, a naturally-occurring flavonoid, inhibit
cataract formation in a rat lens organ exposed to oxidants. Quercitin
protected the lens from calcium and sodium influx, whcih are early events
leading to lens opacity. - Free Radic Biol med (United States), Mar 1999,
26(5-6) p639-45.
TAURINE
Studies suggest that the antioxidant and amino acid, taurine, may be a
part of the defense mechanisms involved in protecting the lens against oxidative
stress and consequent cataract formation.
- Free Radic Res (Switzerland),
Sep 1998, 29(3) p189-95.
VITAMINS C & E, LUTEIN, ZEAXANTHIN.
Medical research shows that Vitamins C and E, and the carotenoids lutein
and zeaxanthin may help significantly in preventing or delaying development
of cataracts and macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness in the
elderly. In a study of nurses in Boston, researchers at Tufts University
found that women who used vitamin C supplements for at least 10 years had
a 77% lower risk of cataract formation.
CAROTENOIDS (Beta carotene, Lycopene, Zeaxanthin)
Research data show that carotenoids and antioxidants help to protect the
retina from oxidative damage initiated in part by absorption of light.
Evidence suggests that carotenoids and antioxidant vitamins may help retard
some of the destructive processes in the retina and the retinal pigment
epithelium that lead to age-related degeneratiuon of the macula.
- Am J
Clin (US), Dec 1995, 62(6 Suppl) p1448S-1461S.
ZINC
In a six month study, 18 patients received three months of placebo treatment
followed directly by three months of zinc gluconate treatment. The researchers
concluded that zinc supplementation for insulin dependent diabetic patients
decreases lipid peroxidation. In addition, this supplementation increases
red glutathione peroxidase (antioxidant protein) activity in patients
with retinopathy, which could be linked to the protective effect of zinc
on the protein itself. - Eur J Clin Nutr. April1995; 49(4):282-288.