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Lutein absorption can be improved by adding solid-lipid particles to the formula.  What does that mean?   Lipids are fats and solid-lipids are fats which are solid at room temperature.  Researchers have noted that lutein from egg yolks is more readily absorbed than the ester form of lutein. Researchers wanted to know whether combining ester lutein with egg-like phospholipids and fatty acids  would improve its absorption rate.

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Age-Related Macular Denegation is a significant cause of vision loss that can often be managed and even improved through targeted nutritional support. It affects mostly people over age 50. While the precise cause of ARMD is not clear, oxidative damage is suspected as being a major factor. It strikes the elderly possibly due to poor diet and nutritional intake over a lifetime, less efficient absorption of nutrients and poor circulation as the body ages. The care needed by vision-impaired elderly could become overwhelming. Let’s take a look at some of the newest research in preventing macular degeneration, as well as treatment and support options.
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Antioxidants have been studied as a way of preventing eye diseases such as macular degeneration and cataracts. Oxidative damage (free radical damage) may be a contributing cause of these diseases. People concerned about developing these problems may consider taking both dietary and supplemental antioxidants, such as fruits, vegetables, and supplements like lutein, zeaxanthin, glutathione, and CoQ10.

A common disease in people over age 50, cataracts is a clouding of the lens of the eye. It may be caused by oxidative damage to proteins in the lens from UV light exposure.
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Lasers are common in toys and laser pointers, but improper use can result in vision damage or accident-causing temporary blindness. The US Food and Drug Administration regulates lasers, and they classify them according to strength. The stronger they are, the more damage they can do.

The main problem is hand-held laser pointers. Laser pointers are used during lectures to point out details on slideshows or posters. They are more powerful than the Class 1 and Class 2 lasers found in toys.

If a laser is pointed directly at the eye, it can damage
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Americans spend about 1/3 of their waking hours on smartphones; young Americans spend even more.  Research finds that we spend almost twice as much time as we think we do and more than half of that time is in short bursts of less than 30 seconds.
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Chinese scientists have identified nutrients that come from marine algae that may prove to provide even better support for vision health problems due to computer eye syndrome than the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin. Fucoxanthin¹ comes from a brown seaweed where it is the primary part of the light-absorbing mechanism of the plant.  It is what gives seaweed a brown or olive-green color.

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Turmeric’s ability to support the body has been well-researched; however, this spice by itself is difficult for the body to absorb. This bright yellow spice is also called curcumin, and it contains a prized antioxidant. Research is verifying curcumin’s ability to reduce: inflammation, depression, pain and diabetes.

At Natural Eye Care, we often recommend curcumin or turmeric as a dietary supplement for patients who have, or are at high risk for an eye condition related to inflammation. For example, macular degeneration
and glaucoma appear to have an inflammation component. Curcumin supports glutathione synthesis, which is an important antioxidant for vision.

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A small study has shown microcurrent stimulation (electrotherapy) to benefit macular degeneration patients. While the study did not have controls, the research on 25 eyes with dry age-related macular degeneration, and 6 eyes with wet age-related macular degeneration found:

• Significant increases in visual acuity for most of the dry AMD patients (Wilcoxon one-sample test)
• Twice as many dry AMD patients had improved visual acuity (52%) than deterioration (26%). The improvements were usually large, while deteriorations were very small.
• The sample size of wet AMD eyes was too small to draw many conclusions; however, all but one had an increase in visual acuity, and none of them deteriorated.

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The benefits of exercise are indisputable.

Exercise has been recognized to have a positive impact on almost every health and vision condition – everything from heart disease to glaucoma, from diabetes to macular degeneration, from depression to cataracts.  For those concerned with weight loss getting adequate exercise is more important than diet.
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Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables helps ward off a common eye disease, age-related macular degeneration (ARMD). A study in Acta Ophthalmologica looked at the relationship between intake of antioxidants (including the antioxidant lutein) and the incidence of macular degeneration. It found that people with low intake of antioxidants were twice as likely to have this eye disease versus controls.

The macula is made from a yellow antioxidant called lutein. Dietary sources of lutein are leafy green vegetables (kale, spinach, collards, mustard greens), brussels sprouts, and broccoli. It is also found in eggs and corn. Lutein supplements can be made from marigolds.
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