Vitamins for Vision Loss Prevention

Dietary Supplements Reduce Vision Loss, Macular Degeneration

Dietary supplements which contain high levels of antioxidants significantly reduced the risk of vision loss among patients with age related macular degeneration, as reported at the conference sponsored by the National Institute of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. This confirms findings of numerous studies conducted in US and Europe.

Elderly patients at high risk of developing advanced stages of age-related macular degeneration reduced the risk of vision loss by 19% when treated with high dose of vitamin C, vitamin E, beta carotene, and zinc alone. Patients in the same high-risk group and taking the same high dose vitamin regimen had nearly 25% risk reduction in the development of advanced stages of age-related macular degeneration, as per Dr. Emily Chew of the National Eye Institute, Bethesda.

The Age-Related Eye Disease study involved 4,757 patients. Their age ranged from 55 to 80 years. In this randomized study, some patients received zinc alone, antioxidants alone, combination of antioxidants and zinc, or a placebo. The antioxidants of benefit included vitamin C, natural vitamin E, beta carotene and supplement of zinc.

Now imagine the additional benefit of total wellness program that includes proper nutrition, antioxidant and other nutrient-rich organic foods, as well as avoidance of foods that we know are nutrient-poor, harmful, or outright toxic.

Such program should include aerobic activities, use of appropriately selected vitamins and supplements.

Other anti-oxidants and nutrients which are beneficial to eyes, as well as to vascular health are: fish oil supplement, leutin, zeaxantin, taurine, NAC, and bilberry extract. The effective dose of bilberry is 320 milligrams per day. Use of vitamins E and C is associated with reduced risk of cataracts.

How common is macular degeneration? It affects approximately 20 percent of people at age 50 and approximately 30 percent at the tender age of 75 and over.

Prevention or early detection of the "age related" macular degeneration is very important. This condition, being also the most common cause of vision loss, is manageable, and according to National Institutes of Health and the National Eye Institute, antioxidants and zinc are very helpful in the reduction of vision loss.

Getting "old" and need glasses? You are not alone. It also happened to me. After one and a half years of driving to work and back home for over one hour a day, and looking directly into the sun, my vision deteriorated to the point that I needed bifocals to read my car's speedometer and odometer, as well as for reading.

After several years of wearing glasses I accepted them as something inevitable. However, more and more often I was coming across studies describing natural ways of vision improvement. Last summer I started using powerful, standardized combination of specially formulated vitamins and supplements designed for vision support. I also further improved my diet. My dietary habits now resemble closer Mediterranean or of Okinawans. Results? Now I can use weaker glasses and need no glasses to read controls in my car. My eye-sight is actually getting better and better.

Already taking "one-a-day" vitamin? Great, but not sufficient. One has to use significantly larger amounts of specific nutrients to be successful in prevention of eye disease, or eye condition reversal.

Dr. Radzik advises that you combine proper nutrition, active lifestyle, and other preventive measures with the appropriate medical care that only your physician can and will provide. Although prevention makes great difference, do not underestimate the benefits of early detection. Here, primary example is early detection of colon polyps and early stage of colon cancer. There are many other conditions that are easy to control with a proper nutritional and lifestyle modification program.