The Silent Assault on Your Eyes: Blurred Vision and Blue Light
Blurred vision, eye fatigue, dry or irritable eyes—it seems to only get worse over time. And now, your eyes face another assault: Blue light that emits from all your digital devices, from smartphones to flat TVs — powerful enough to penetrate your retina.
Two out of three people suffer from blurred vision, eye fatigue, and dry, irritable eyes. Researchers expect the number of people who suffer from Age-related Macular Degeneration and cataracts will double by the year 2050.
Why Most People Lack Eye Protection
The macular pigment in your eyes acts as its internal pair of sunglasses to protect your vision from damaging blue light. Yet nearly 78% of Americans have too little macular pigment to protect against harmful blue light. The typical American diet doesn’t supply the amount of eye-supporting nutrients needed to keep this vital shield dense and robust.
Lutein: The Eye Vitamin That Does So Much More
Lutein Is The Most Familiar Essential Eye Vitamin
This nutrient, abundant in many healthy foods, including dark green leafy vegetables and eggs, is a powerful antioxidant well known for reducing the risk of eye diseases like age-related macular degeneration and diabetic neuropathy.
Lutein Slows Cognitive Decline
But keeping your eyes healthy is far from the only good reason to supply ample amounts of lutein to your entire body.
Lutein is a nutrient that accumulates in the brain, and studies have demonstrated that maintaining optimal levels of lutein keeps you cognitively young.
In one study, researchers measured brain activity while performing tasks requiring attention and concentration. They found that older people with higher levels of lutein had brain activity younger than their peers who carried less lutein.
Lutein Switches Off Stress
As lutein builds up in the brain, its anti-inflammatory properties control the stress hormone cortisol.
In one study, healthy adults were given a daily lutein supplement of either 15 or 30mg. After six months, their cortisol levels were reduced, and they experienced improved psychological stress and overall emotional and physical health.
Lutein Guards Heart Health
A diet rich in lutein is associated with better heart health. One study found that patients with higher lutein levels showed a reduction in interleukin-6 (IL-6). This pro-inflammatory protein strongly predicts heart attack and stroke, especially in older adults.
Healthy Aging
Researchers are now aware that certain nutritional deficiencies impact healthy aging and the illnesses that can be associated with it. The carotenoid family, of which lutein is a member, is among those most critical to healthy aging and longevity.
How to Get More Lutein in Your Diet
Getting More Lutein In Your Diet
Now that you know how much lutein can do for your health, you’ll want to ensure you get more of it, right?
Lutein is a nutrient that the body can’t make on its own, so you have to get it from the foods you eat or through supplements.
Top Lutein-Rich Foods
The good news is that it’s not hard to find this powerful nutrient in foods you’re hopefully already eating to maintain your health:
- Dark green and leafy vegetables (kale, spinach, collard greens, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts, to name just a few)
- Parsley
- Eggs
- Red grapes
- Winter squash
- Yellow sweet corn
- Pumpkin
- Sweet potatoes
- Asparagus
- Carrots
Ocular Support: Comprehensive Eye Health in a Bottle
If you don’t get enough lutein out of your diet, consider supplementing it with Ocular Support. Ocular Support is a dietary supplement that maintains and supports proper visual function.
Ocular Support contains 16 nutrients, including antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and herbs that have been found to support optimal eye health and functions.
Eye Structure and Function Support:
- Quercetin and Rutin are antioxidants that help support capillary integrity and work with Vitamin C to decrease bruising of the tiny capillaries in the eye. Rutin has also been associated with maintaining healthy ocular pressure within the eye. Quercetin helps support histamine levels within normal ranges to help maintain eye health.
- Bilberry helps with the formation and maintenance of connective tissues within the eye, has beneficial effects on microcirculation, assists in strengthening capillaries in the eye, and protects the macula.
- Eyebright is an herb that improves microcirculation to the retina and helps maintain eye moisture and pressure.
- L-taurine is essential for maintaining the structural integrity of the retina. If Taurine is depleted, rapid photoreceptor degeneration can result.
- Lutein and Zeaxanthin are antioxidants that support ocular health by inhibiting free radical reactions in the eye and keeping macular pigment’s thickness. Lutein is found in high concentrations in the retina and macula of the eye. Lutein also helps protect the eye’s lens from the damaging effects of UV sunlight.
- Vitamin B12 helps nerve function by supporting the myelin sheath, which insulates nerves such as the optic nerve.
Antioxidant Support:
- Alpha Lipoic Acid is a fat and water-soluble antioxidant that can extend the biochemical life of other antioxidants such as Vitamins C, E, and L-Glutathione.
- Beta carotene is a powerful antioxidant converted in the body to Vitamin A, essential to the protection and function of the eye’s retina.
- Lycopene is a phytonutrient with potent antioxidant powers to help maintain optimal eye health.
- L-glutathione is the critical antioxidant in the lens. Its primary function is to protect the lens from ultraviolet radiation, which, over time, can cause clouding. The production of Glutathione in the lens declines with age.
- Vitamins C & E are antioxidants that support circulation and the eye’s structures.
- Selenium, Zinc, and riboflavin are nutrients necessary for supporting antioxidants such as Glutathione and superoxide dismutase.
To learn more about eye health, get a FREE Consultation with one of our doctors (D.C) here
Thank you for this valuable information! My husband and I (65 & 70 years old) have been taking Ocular Support for a few years now and we both have healthy eyes. Thank you for also sharing the lutein-rich foods!