This blog post will walk you through: what is the best vitamin for your eyes.
1. Vitamin A
Xerophthalmia is a progressive eye disease which begins with night blindness. If vitamin A deficiency continues, your tear ducts and eyes can dry out. Eventually, your cornea softens, resulting in irreversible blindness ( 1 , 2).
Vitamin A may also help protect against other eye afflictions. Sweet potatoes are an excellent source, as are leafy green vegetables, pumpkins and bell peppers Summary Severe vitamin A deficiency can lead to xerophthalmia, a serious condition that can result in blindness.
In some studies, high amounts of vitamin A intake were associated with a reduced risk of cataracts and age-related macular degeneration.
Overview
Robably heard someone say, “Eat your carrots, they’re good for your eyes.” You may have also seen advertisements for nutritional supplements for eye health. Keep reading to learn more about supplements and eye health.
Plenty of claims are made about the positive effects of supplements on vision and eye health, but very few research studies support these claims. The studies focused on two conditions that affect millions of Americans, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and cataracts. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD)
AMD is the leading cause of vision loss in the United States.
It affects more than 10 million people. Amd occurs when there’s deterioration of light-sensitive cells in the macula area of the retina. This is the part of the eye responsible for:
recording what we see and sending the information to our brains
seeing fine detail
focusing
Cataracts
A cataract is a clouding of the lens of the eye.
It may impair your ability to see well enough to perform daily tasks and can become worse over time. Cataracts are extremely common, particularly among older adults. The final recommendations from AREDS2 were:
vitamin C 500 mg vitamin E 400 IU lutein 10 mg zeaxanthin 2 mg zinc 80 mg copper 2 mg (taken to prevent copper deficiency caused by zinc)
This supplement formulation is available in capsule form and is usually taken twice daily.
In study participants, the risk of AMD and serious vision loss was reduced by 25 percent over six years. Supplements were not effective for people with mild or very advanced stages.
Vision Supplements In Multivitamins
Earch suggesting that certain nutrients can help delay or prevent eye problems and disease.
You may also have heard a lot of claims for over-the-counter (OTC) vision supplements containing these nutrients — and claims for others that have not been tested in clinical studies.
So What Should You Believe?
Here is information to help you decide. Regardless of dosage, supplements are not a cure for health problems or a substitute for medication your doctor has recommended.