Hello, welcome again. My name is Andrew Brown, the faculty here at the Gavin Herbert Eye Institute. Thank you for joining us for this macular degeneration information bite. Today, we're going to talk about lutein and zeaxanthin, which are two biochemicals that are a part of a family called the carotenoids. These are very important to the health of the eye, and in particular, the central vision. Zeaxanthin is very highly concentrated in the macula, which is the central part of our vision. These chemicals are concentrated right on the inner layers of the retina, and they form two protective barriers for the central vision. The first barrier is as a filter for blue light as it comes into the eye. Blue light has been suggested and demonstrated to have toxicity for the retina. The second function is behaving as a protection against oxidation inside the eye. Lutein and zeaxanthin, and the family of carotenoids, prevent peroxidation of long-chain polyunsaturated fats, and this prevention

of oxidation also prevents damage inside the eye. The most important ways that we can prevent age-related macular degeneration is by increasing the amount of lutein and zeaxanthin in our diets. There are fruits and vegetables that have a higher concentration of lutein and zeaxanthin. Some of these include green leafy vegetables and carrots. You can also increase the protection of your macula with things like fish oil. The age-related eye disease study was a large study sponsored by the NIH to study the value of supplemental nutrients to preventing age-related macular degeneration. What they found was that including things like lutein and zeaxanthin in a vitamin supplement slowed down and prevented the progression of dry macular degeneration to the wet form of the disease. Therefore, all of the age-related eye disease study number two vitamin formulation, also known as the AREDS2 vitamins, have a combination of lutein and zeaxanthin in addition to other vitamin antioxidants that all in concert prevent

damage to the retina. As with so many things in medicine, a healthy diet and a healthy lifestyle also prevent the progression of age-related macular degeneration. Therefore, eating healthy diets rich in vegetables, fruits, and unprocessed foods is a way of lowering the sources of oxidative stress to the retina. Similarly, reducing exposure to smoke or reducing tobacco consumption is a way of reducing oxidative stress to the retina. So, in combination with lutein and zeaxanthin and a variety of other antioxidants that are included in a Reds vitamins, we can slow down the progression of early macular degeneration to the advanced forms of the disease. Thank you for joining us again for this macular degeneration information bite. If you have any further questions, please feel free to talk to your local eye care provider.

Importance of Leutin and Zeaxanthin For the Eyes

Importance of Leutin and Zeaxanthin For the Eyes