What are The Best Eye Vitamins For Macular Degeneration?
In this article, you will learn what are the best eye vitamins for macular degeneration, and how these supplements aid in improving this eye condition.
How to Reverse Macular Degeneration Naturally
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration, chances are you've been advised to take an eye vitamin to slow the progression of the disease. So what is the difference between an eye vitamin and regular, multiple vitamins and with so many different eye vitamins on the market?
Exactly what should you be looking for, so that you can choose the best one today we'll be answering those questions! There are medications necessary to ensure the best outcomes possible.
Age-Related Macular Degeneration, also known as AMD, occurs in people usually over the age of 60, but sometimes younger. It is a disease of the eye that causes progressive damage to a part of the retina called the macula and can lead to impaired vision and possibly blindness.
The National Institutes of Health's (NIH)-sponsored Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2 (AREDS2) found that taking supplements with some micro-nutrients slows the progression of dry AMD into the more advanced stage of vision loss by 25%.
The Best Vitamins for Macular Degeneration
So what about these eye vitamins that your eye doctor wants you to take? Are your multivitamins good enough? Maybe, but maybe not the age-related eye. The disease study called AREDS [Age-Related Eye Disease Studies] was started in the late 1990s and was followed by an AREDS2 study. These studies look at diseases of the eye in older patients, including macular degeneration and cataracts.
The outcome of these studies included a nutritional supplementation recommendation to help slow the progression of the disease in patients with intermediate or worse macular degeneration by up to 25 percent. The vitamins do not prevent or slow the progression of AMD until it gets to the intermediate stage.
In the original study, vitamin A was included in the form of beta-carotene, but it was found that this increased the risk of lung cancer in smokers and in former smokers. So in the AREDS2 study, the beta-carotene was removed and lutein and zeaxanthin were added. It turns out that vitamin A doesn't help slow the development of cataracts, but lutein and zeaxanthin do that.
Both formulations can slow down the progression of macular degeneration but stay away from high doses of vitamin A. If you've ever been a smoker other vitamins that were included in the supplement during the study include vitamin c. Vitamin e copper was also added in the second Study because zinc decreases the absorption of copper, an essential mineral that does not affect the progression of macular degeneration.
But deficiency of copper may cause frequent illness weakness or fatigue, cold sensitivity, and difficulty walking because of the decreased absorption of copper and other nutrients, and because too much zinc may actually destroy retinal cells. It has recently been suggested that the amount of zinc should be decreased from 80 milligrams daily to 25 milligrams.
Daily and studies are showing no decrease in benefit for macular degeneration. Too much zinc has also been linked to decreased immunity to infectious disease and may decrease HDL.
Good cholesterol may also increase the risk of urinary tract infections, especially in women. So, as with everything else in life, there is a balance between too much and too little zinc to keep us healthy.
The current recommendation for an eye vitamin that can help decrease the progression of macular degeneration includes:
10 milligrams of Lutein daily.
2 milligrams of Zeaxanthin.
500 milligrams of Vitamin c.
400 international units of Vitamin E.
25 milligrams of Zinc oxide.
2 milligrams of Cupric oxide or Copper.
If your multivitamin contains ingredients in these quantities, it may be adequate to protect you from progressing from intermediate macular degeneration.
However, many eye doctors are telling their patients to take their eyes vitamins with their multivitamins to ensure protection. Ask your doctor what his or her recommendation is.
Also, It should be noted that eye vitamins are available over the counter and will probably not be covered by your insurance and depending on the product. They may cost you anywhere from ten dollars to fifty dollars a month or more.
When choosing an eye vitamin or any vitamin, you need to check with the company and ask if they do third-party testing to ensure that what is on the label is in the vitamin. These vitamins are not considered medication by the FDA, so specific products are not regulated like medications.
Are the manufacturers expected to regulate themselves to ensure that what they report on the label is actually what is in the product? The most reputable companies will have third-party testing done to obtain an unbiased report on the product.
This testing is expensive, so the cost is passed on to the consumer, which is why a good quality product will always cost more. However, isn't your eyesight worth it? Also while they won't usually be covered by insurance, check to see if you can use your health savings account to cover the cost.
Conclusion
Finally, if your ophthalmologist recommends it, you can take the AREDS2 supplements to reduce the risk of vision loss from AMD. To improve eyesight the Revision Eye Supplement is recommended as the best eye vitamin to take for macular degeneration.
Its ingredients are natural vitamins and herbs that work to reverse aging-related eye damages, and helps in your overall eye health. That is why it is highly recommended by Ophthalmologists around the world.
You can CLICK HERE to visit the Official Website to learn more about how it works and what results you can achieve from taking this supplement.
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