Lutein and Zeaxanthin Intake Shown to Benefit Eye Health

by | Aug 26, 2009 | 2007, Eye Health, Lutein, Macular Degeneration, Zeaxanthin

Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. In a study with over 4500 patients, those with the highest intakes of lutein and zeaxanthin (3544 micrograms per day) had a 35% decreased risk of age-related macular degeneration.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of irreversible visual impairment and blindness in the U.S. and other developed countries throughout the world (1), causing vision loss in more than 200,000 people every year (2). This is expected to increase to 3 million in the U.S. alone over the next 20 years (3). Unfortunately, the cause of AMD still remains a mystery, with cigarette smoking and advancing age as the only two known risk factors (4).

Because there are very few treatment options available for AMD, prevention is at a high priority. Fortunately, antioxidant intake, especially in the form of green leafy vegetables (5) and resveratrol, found in high amounts in walnuts and blueberries (6), can reduce the risk of AMD.

Building upon previous research confirming antioxidants’ role in eye health (7), a new study (8) has found that antioxidant intake, specifically lutein and zeaxanthin, is beneficial to eye health.

In the study, over 4,500 patients who participated in the Age-related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) (9) completed a 90-item food questionnaire (10).  The researchers found that, compared to those with the lowest intake of lutein and zeaxanthin (686 micrograms per day), those with the highest intakes of lutein and zeaxanthin (3544 micrograms per day) had a 35% decreased risk of AMD. These results confirmed two previous studies’ finding that antioxidants benefit eye health (11, 12).

For the researchers, “This report provides further evidence that people reporting higher intake of lutein/zeaxanthin from foods have a reduced likelihood of having NV AMD.”

Source: SanGiovanni, J. P., et al. “The relationship of dietary carotenoid and vitamin A, E, and C intake with age-related macular degeneration in a case-control study.” Arch Ophthalmol 125.9 (2007): 1225-1232.

©2007 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.

Posted August 26, 2009.

References:

  1. National Advisory Eye Council. Vision Research—A National Plan: 1999-2003, Vol. 1. A Report of the National Advisory Eye Council. Bethesda, Md: National Institutes of Health; 1999. NIH publication 98-4120.
  2. National Institutes of Health National Eye Institute and Prevent Blindness America. Vision Problems in the US: Prevalence of Adult Vision Impairment and Age-Related Eye Disease in America. Schaumburg, Ill: Prevent Blindness America; 2002.
  3. Eye Disease Prevalence Research Group. Prevalence of age-related macular degeneration in the United States. Arch Ophthalmol. 2004;122:564-572.
  4. Mitchell P, Wang JJ, Smith W, Leeder S. Smoking and the 5-year incidence of age-related maculopathy. Arch Ophthalmol. 2002;120:1357-1363.
  5. Seddon JM, Ajani UA, Sperduto RD, et al. Dietary carotenoids, vitamins A, C, and E, and advanced age-related macular degeneration. JAMA. 1994;272:1413-1420.
  6. Progression of age-related macular degeneration: association with dietary fat, transunsaturated fat, nuts, and fish intake.  Arch Ophthalmol. 2003 Dec;121(12):1728-37.
  7. Van Leeuwen.  Dietary intake of antioxidants and risk of age-related macular degeneration.  JAMA. 2005 Dec 28;294(24):3101-7.
  8. The Relationship of Dietary Carotenoid and Vitamin A, E, and C Intake With Age-Related Macular Degeneration in a Case-Control Study: AREDS Report No. 22 Age-Related Eye Disease Study Research Group.  Arch Ophthalmol. 2007;125(9):1225-1232.
  9. Age-Related Eye Disease Study Research Group. The Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS): design implications AREDS report no. 1. Control Clin Trials. 1999;20(6):573-600.
  10. Kurinij N, Gensler G, Milton R, AREDS Research Group. Development and validation of a food frequency questionnaire in a randomized trial of eye disease. Paper presented at: The International Conference on Dietary Assessment Methods; May 7, 1998; Phoenix, AZ.
  11. Seddon JM, Ajani UA, Sperduto RD, et al. Dietary carotenoids, vitamins A, C, and E, and advanced age-related macular degeneration. JAMA. 1994;272(18):1413-1420.
  12. Snellen EL, Verbeek AL, Van Den Hoogen GW, Cruysberg JR, Hoyng CB. Neovascular age-related macular degeneration and its relationship to antioxidant intake. Acta Ophthalmol Scand. 2002;80(4):368-371.