Eye Vitamins And Macular Degeneration

Television commercials and magazine ads are heralding optic vitamins in improving eye health.  Taking eye vitamins can help your eyes stay healthy longer and can help prevent many diseases.  We should be getting all of our vitamins and minerals in the food we eat but that is nearly impossible in today's culture.  Fast-food often does not give us the vitamins and minerals that are so essential to our health. 

You can buy vitamins specifically for the eyes without a prescription and are not usually expensive.  Dosages recommended can be between one to four pills daily but that can vary according to the amount of each vitamin and mineral in each pill.  The National Eye Institutes recommends a specific dose of some vitamins and minerals to be taken in daily.  You can find those recommendations at the website for the National Eye Institute.

Lutein is an important antioxidant and its value in eye health is still being studied.  Other vitamins specific for eye health should contain vitamins A, C, E B2 and the minerals zinc and selenium.  Lutein is found mostly in the retina, lens and macula and it is especially important for smokers to have sufficient amounts of lutein.  Smokers should also be on the watch for eye vitamins with no beta-carotene because some tests have linked smoking and beta-carotene to various diseases. 

Macular Degeneration patients may benefit from new research on the benefits of many antioxidants and zinc.  Patients that had intermediate-stage macular degeneration and advanced macular degeneration showed a definite benefit from taking extra doses of antioxidants and zinc.  Patients taking a prescribed dose of these compounds showed a 25 percent decrease in progression of the disease.

The research also found that people who did not have the disease or it was in the earliest stages did not receive any clear benefits from taking these nutrients.  Vitamins cannot restore already lost vision but delaying progress this devastating disease for millions of people is hopeful.  It also helps in understanding exactly how the disease progresses. 

Much more research needs to be done before scientists and researchers can fully understand and treat the various forms of macular degeneration.  Taking some vitamins in high doses can interact with other prescribed medications and may increase the risk of developing other diseases.  One example is with beta-carotene.  Beta-carotene has been shown to increase the risk of lung cancer in patients who smoke.  Your doctor should be consulted before starting any vitamin routine.  They can recommend which vitamins you should take and those you should stay away from based on your individual health. 

More testing needs to be conducted on the different forms of macular degeneration.  One therapy is aimed at preventing abnormal blood vessels from growing in the eyes of patients who have "wet" macular degeneration.  Clinical trials are being conducted around the country including the Kellogg Eye Center.  Advances in treating and preventing macular degeneration are being made every year.  Vitamins may be an important part of stopping this disease.