what are the most important vitamins to maintain eye health?
What are the best foods that contain those vitamins?
Do you need to take supplements to maintain your eye health?
To learn more, keep watching.
Hello everyone This is Dr Audrey Tai, I'm a board-certified and fellowship trained Cataract
and refractive surgeon, ophthalmologist and cornea specialist, welcome back to my channel
- eye Channel by eye surgeon.
I am here to bring you the latest information on eye health and medicine.
I also have a Masters degree in nutrition, and today’s topic is a particular interest
of mine.
This is the first part of the video series covering the most important vitamins to maintain
our eye health, the types of foods that will provide those vitamins, and when and what
supplements you need to take to maintain eye health.
Part two of this video series is coming out soon, so stay tuned, hit the subscribe button
and notification bell so you won’t miss any of my new videos.
Number one: lutein and zeaxanthin Lutein and zeaxanthin are special naturally
occurring pigment chemicals called xanthophylls that are found in our eyes.
Xanthophylls are one of the major types of carotenoids, which are yellow, orange, or
red, fat soluble pigments that give color to plant parts such as ripe tomatoes and Autumn
leaves.
There are more than 750 naturally occurring carotenoids, and they are produced by plants,
algae and some bacteria.
Carotenoids can be divided into 2 groups: carotenes and xanthophylls . Both are important
in maintaining eye health.
Carotenes are carotenoids in Provitamin a forms, such as beta-carotene, that can be
converted by our body into vitamin A; xanthophylls such as the lutein and zeaxanthin are also
carotenoids.
They have antioxidant properties, can scavenge free radicals, and are thought to absorb damaging
light waves , but they do not convert into vitamin-A in your body.
lutein and zeaxanthin are the only types of carotenoids found in the retina, which is
the layer of nerve tissue in our eyes that is responsible for forming images and enables
us to see.
Some studies have shown that higher dietary intake of lutein and ZEAXANTHIN was associated
with a significantly lower risk of developing wet age-related macular degeneration, or AMD.
in fact, the vitamin supplement formulation recommended by the National eye institute
or NEI for macular degeneration, called the AREDS2 formula, contains 10 mg of lutein and
2 mg of ZEAXANTHIN per recommended serving.
Studies have shown that the AREDS 2 formula vitamin supplements can slow down the progression
of macular degeneration in people with moderate to severe AMD.
In addition, lutein and ZEAXANTHIN are also found in our natural crystalline lens where
they act as antioxidants, protecting against oxidative stress that can cause early cataract
formation.
While the AREDS2 study did not find conclusive evidence that supplementing lutein and ZEAXANTHIN
slows down cataract progression, the study did find that in participants with the lowest
quartile of dietary intake of lutein and ZEAXANTHIN , supplementation of those two nutrients showed
some evidence of a beneficial effect on the progression of the cataract outcomes.
Since we get our lutein and ZEAXANTHIN primarily from our diet, I want to share with you some
of the whole foods that naturally contain high concentrations of lutein and zeaxanthin.
they are mainly the dark leafy green vegetables, such as Kale, spinach, and parsley.
Additionally, eggs, specifically the egg yolks, are also a good source of lutein and ZEAXANTHIN
While there is no official recommended dietary allowance or RDA for lutein and ZEAXANTHIN,
daily intakes of approximately 6 mg of lutein and ZEAXANTHIN has been associated with a
decreased risk of AMD . Studies have shown that the current in takes of lutein and ZEAXANTHIN
among adults greater than 50 years of age fall well below this level, with an average
intake of less than 2 mg per day for both men and women.
Only about 1% of men and 5% of women meet the dietary intakes that have been associated
with a decreased risk of AMD.
So, should you take supplements for lutein and ZEAXANTHIN?
For most people who are younger than 50 years of age and who eat a diet rich in fruits and
vegetables, the diet itself may contain a sufficient amount of those 2 vitamins.
However, for people over the age of 50 and at risk of developing macular degeneration,
or those with a history of macular degeneration, as well as people with dietary restrictions
that may result in a low intake of those 2 nutrients, I do recommend taking daily supplements
of lutein and ZEAXANTHIN.
I have listed a few recommended supplements below and you can check them out.
Number 2: Vitamin A The next important nutrient for eye health
we will discuss is vitamin-A . As I mentioned before, there are 2 types of carotenoids that
are important for maintaining eye health, carotenes and Xanthophylls.
Carotene is a main dietary source of vitamin-A, which is one of the essential nutrients to
maintain healthy vision.
Vitamin A is the molecule that transmits the signal of stimulation from light in our eyes
to the brain, allowing us to see both during the day and at night.
Therefore vitamin A deficiency can cause night vision problems.
Vitamin A is also essential for maintaining the health of the cornea and the conjunctiva.
The cornea is the clear windshield of our eyes, and the conjunctiva is the layer of
clear skin that overlies the white part of our eyes, the sclera.
Vitamin-A deficiency can lead to scarring on both the cornea and the conjunctiva, and
can cause severe dry eye disease and blindness due to this scarring.
Dietary sources of vitamin A can be divided into two groups, preformed vitamin A and provitamin
A carotenoids.
Preformed vitamin A is found in foods of animal origin, such as milk, yogurt, liver, and fish;
and Provitamin A is found in vegetable sources, such as carrots, pumpkins, sweet potatoes,
and spinach.
The recommended dietary allowance of vitamin A is 700microgram/day in females and 900 microgram/day
in males.
Should you take vitamin A supplements?
if you live in the U.S. or other developed countries, vitamin-A deficiency is not common
due to abundant sources of vitamin-A in our diet, but people can still suffer from vitamin-A
deficiency if they have diseases which affect digestion or absorption, such as inflammatory
bowel disease like Crohn's disease, liver disease like cirrhosis, or if they have certain
dietary restrictions.
In those cases, daily vitamin a supplements may be recommended.
To learn more about vitamin a supplements and eye Health, as well as potential vitamin-A
toxicity that can be caused by taking too much vitamin-A from supplements, you can check
out this video: “Does eating carrots improve night vision?”
Number three Omega 3 – essential fatty acids In addition to the vitamins I mentioned before,
omega-3 fatty acids including DHA and EPA, are important for maintaining eye health.
DHA is a key fatty acid in the retina, and it can affect the cell membrane function of
the two important photoreceptor cells in the retina, Rod cells and cone cells.
Additionally, studies have shown that omega-3 supplements are effective in treating dry
eye disease, by improving the health of the oil glands in our eyelids, called membomian
glands.
Foods that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids include fish like salmon, and some types of
seaweed.
The average intake of EPA and DHA among men and women >50 years of age are 121mg and 13
mg per day, respectively.
To learn more about the benefit of omega-3 supplements for eye health, and how to choose
the right omega-3 supplement for you, you can check out this video - best omega-3 fish
oil for dry eyes.
I hope you find this video helpful.
If so, be sure not to miss part two of this video series, coming out soon!
Hit the subscribe button and notification bell so you won’t miss any of my new videos.
Please let me know in the comments below if you would like me to make more videos in the
future to learn more about natural foods that can improve eye health.
I've listed some recommended supplements in the description below, and you can check them
out.
Please always remember to consult with your doctor before taking high-dose over-the-counter
vitamin supplements to make sure they're safe and right for you.
Any time you don’t have 10 minutes, you can watch short fun videos about eye care
tips on Instagram @draudreytai.
You can also follow me on Facebook and LinkedIn @draudreytai to learn more about my practice.
I look forward to connecting with you there.
Thank you again for watching and I will see you in my next video.