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.