Eye supplements

[rk_sports]

As I'm getting older, I realized the importance of supplements (for health &) to help me recover faster from a workout (incl. tennis) ... protein, fish oil, vitamins (D3/K), etc. ...

However, not starting this thread to discuss those supplements I mentioned above.. there are a million threads covering them in this forum

Started noticing that my eyesight is getting affected too with age, mostly IMO from too much screen (monitor/tv) time... so my question is: are there any supplements that help eye health specifically?

[scotus]

Lutein, supposedly

[ollinger]

There are supplements aimed at trying to prevent macular degeneration, but nothing that's thought to affect the change in visual acuity (presbyopia, it's actually called) that usually occurs with age.

[WildVolley]

What about the rumors that pilots were taking blueberries during WW2 to increase vision, especially at night. Has anyone ever tested that, or is it just a folk story?

[LuckyR]

I will say that if the TV ads are accurate (and we all know they are), if you take Ocuvite, your eyes will turn an intense blue color similar to those fakey tinted contacts.

[sureshs]

Make sure you get the multivitamins with lutein and lycopene. Most don't have it, or have only one.

There are two more which have been mentioned: zeaxanthin and astaxanthin. Learnt about them from a HSN show on Andrew Lessman (http://www.procapslabs.com).

Note: I have not purchased his products and have no opinion on them.

And of course you know about Vitamin A, but that is covered by the multivitamin.

[SystemicAnomaly]

When reading or sitting in front of a monitor, be sure to take frequent "eye breaks". Every few minutes, look up and off into the distance. Blink rapidly for several seconds and then go back to your work. You might try some "eye palming" if your eyes get fatigued.

Also consider your diet to maintain your eye health. Sardines, salmon, blueberries, broccoli, spinach, kale, collard greens and other leafy greens should be beneficial. Other foods that may help include carrots, bilberries, eggs/egg yolks, grapes, red wine (in moderation), goji berries, garlic, onions/shallots, capers, apricots, (ground) flax seeds, chia seeds, walnuts, almonds, peanuts, avocados, dark chocolate and, possibly, corn. Some food spices/herbs to consider are fennel, saffron, dill, oregano and ginkgo.

http://www.the-lasik-directory.com/a...nutrition.html
http://dietgest.blogspot.com/2007/09...-eyesight.html
http://www.ahaf.org/macular/about/risk.html#Protecting
http://www.allaboutvision.com/nutrition/

If you are considering a carotene/carotenoid supplement, make sure that it is a full-spectrum or "food" carotene. Many of the carotenoids have already been mentioned by various posters.

You might also want to look into decent eye drops. Avoid drops with redness relievers and look for ones with a good lubricant such a hypromellose (aka HPMC) or CMC. I don't know how effect they are effective they are, but you might also want to look into eye drops with N-acetyl carnosine or various other nutrients.

http://www.collegepharmacy.com/index...nts_eye_health
http://www.puretango.com/ocuphase.html

[SystemicAnomaly]

A few foods that I forget to add to my list above include red bell peppers, sweet potatoes and tomatoes. Ketchup, tomato sauce & stewed tomatoes may be a better source of lycopene (and possibly other nutrients) than raw tomatoes. For more foods and info:

http://health.discovery.com/centers/...ye-health.html

[sureshs]

Yes tomatoes and carrots are good.

[scotus]

Originally Posted by sureshs

Make sure you get the multivitamins with lutein and lycopene. Most don't have it, or have only one.

There are two more which have been mentioned: zeaxanthin and astaxanthin. Learnt about them from a HSN show on Andrew Lessman (http://www.procapslabs.com).

Note: I have not purchased his products and have no opinion on them.

And of course you know about Vitamin A, but that is covered by the multivitamin.

Usually the multivitamins are not the way to go to get lesser known vitamins, minerals, etc.

Centrum, for example, claims to have lutein and lycopene. But the label indicates that they are in such a trace amount it's almost as though there is none at all.

[sureshs]

Originally Posted by scotus

Usually the multivitamins are not the way to go to get lesser known vitamins, minerals, etc.

Centrum, for example, claims to have lutein and lycopene. But the label indicates that they are in such a trace amount it's almost as though there is none at all.

Check out the other product I mentioned in an earlier post.

[rk_sports]

thanks folks..

those OcuPhase eye drops are too expensive for me

i'll try the multis with lutein and lycopene first and go from there

[sureshs]

Also has xeaxanthin.

But I don't see the %tage composition

[rk_sports]

Originally Posted by sureshs

Also has xeaxanthin.

But I don't see the %tage composition

Did you mean Zeaxanthin? http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...9L._SS400_.jpg

[sureshs]

Yes...............

[SystemicAnomaly]

Originally Posted by rk_sports

thanks folks..

those OcuPhase eye drops are too expensive for me

i'll try the multis with lutein and lycopene first and go from there

If the "nutrient" eye drops are too pricey, you should still consider a good "dry eyes" formulation or an artificial tears formulation (often labeled as "natural tears") with one of the lubricants I suggested previously. Many stores have a house brand that is reasonably priced:

http://www.cvs.com/shop/product-deta...s?skuId=317914

The multi that you linked does have more lycopene, lutein and zeaxanthin than Centrum Silver. However, it takes 3 capsules to provide 1000 mcg of each of these nutrients. While this may sound like a lot, 1000 mcg is really only 1 mg. While this is better than nothing, it is still a fairly modest amount.

While there are no RDA levels established for these nutrients, therapeutic levels are usually much higher than 1 mg/day. You might go with a cheaper multi (or only take 1 or 2 capsules/day of the MikroLing product) and look for your lycopene, lutein and zeaxanthin in foods (or other supplemental sources). The following source has some good info on lycopene sources. It indicates that, according to MayoClinic.com, 2-30 mg/day is "recommended and safe".

http://www.livestrong.com/article/418183-lycopene-recommended-daily-allowance

According to the American Optometric Association, studies suggest that a beneficial daily intake of lutein should be about 10 mg/day and a daily intake of zeaxanthin should be about 2 mg/day. The AOA also shows some excellent food sources of these nutrients:

http://www.aoa.org/x11815.xml

Here are a couple of other pages with decent info on vision nutrients:

http://www.allaboutvision.com/teens/nutrition.htm
http://www.livestrong.com/article/395393-lycopene-for-macular-degeneration
.

[scotus]

Originally Posted by SystemicAnomaly

If the "nutrient" eye drops are too pricey, you should still consider a good "dry eyes" formulation or an artificial tears formulation (often labeled as "natural tears") with one of the lubricants I suggested previously. Many stores have a house brand that is reasonably priced:

http://www.cvs.com/shop/product-deta...s?skuId=317914

The multi that you linked does have more lycopene, lutein and zeaxanthin than Centrum Silver. However, it takes 3 capsules to provide 1000 mcg of each of these nutrients. While this may sound like a lot, 1000 mcg is really only 1 mg. While this is better than nothing, it is still a fairly modest amount.

While there are no RDA levels established for these nutrients, therapeutic levels are usually much higher than 1 mg/day. You might go with a cheaper multi (or only take 1 or 2 capsules/day of the MikroLing product) and look for your lycopene, lutein and zeaxanthin in foods (or other supplemental sources). The following source has some good info on lycopene sources. It indicates that, according to MayoClinic.com, 2-30 mg/day is "recommended and safe".

http://www.livestrong.com/article/418183-lycopene-recommended-daily-allowance

According to the American Optometric Association, studies suggest that a beneficial daily intake of lutein should be about 10 mg/day and a daily intake of zeaxanthin should be about 2 mg/day. The AOA also shows some excellent food sources of these nutrients:

http://www.aoa.org/x11815.xml

Here are a couple of other pages with decent info on vision nutrients:

http://www.allaboutvision.com/teens/nutrition.htm
http://www.livestrong.com/article/395393-lycopene-for-macular-degeneration
.

I take Costco's Trunature brand of Lutein & Zeaxanthin.

25 mg of Lutein and 5 mg of Zeaxanthin in each softgel.

[SystemicAnomaly]

Originally Posted by scotus

I take Costco's Trunature brand of Lutein & Zeaxanthin.

25 mg of Lutein and 5 mg of Zeaxanthin in each softgel.

Tried to look up details of this product on the Costco website. Note says that the product is no longer available (perhaps that only applies to online purchases). If this product really delivers this much in each softgel, then this appears quite impressive. Hopefully this Costco house brand is a quality product. Assuming that is delivers this much in each softgel, you should only need to take it every other day or 3x/week (particularly if you are eating foods with these nutrients).

I took a closer look at the product that I was using and discovered that the carotene levels and other nutrients were more than adequate but the levels of the carotenoinds, lutein & zeaxanthin, were very low (less than 100 mcg). I just picked up a very reasonably-priced Lutein Esters (20 mg) product made by NOW (Foods). Each softgel provides 10 mg of lutein and 1.34 mg of zeaxanthin + cryptoxanthin. NOW, in general, provides very high quality products. Here is a listing of the lutein products:

http://www.NowFoods.com/Search/?search=lutein

You should also be able to find some 5-10 mg lycopene products for a moderate price. CVS, Lucky's and a number of other retailers will often have one of more of their lycopene products on sale for 50% off (or BOGO free). CVS has these sales quite frequently (more than once a month?).

[sureshs]

Is it good to take so much?

[jswinf]

Originally Posted by WildVolley

What about the rumors that pilots were taking blueberries during WW2 to increase vision, especially at night. Has anyone ever tested that, or is it just a folk story?

RAF pilots took billberry and thought it helped their vision, it's included in many "eye-type" supplements. Don't know about blueberries...

"I say, you chaps are leaving blue smudges all over the navigation charts!"