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To: ne1410s; ProtectOurFreedom

That’s just lutein & zeaxanthin and some minerals, all of which many of us take even without AMD. You also want to take astaxanthin. The latter has shown some indication of being able to partially reverse cataracts.


22 posted on 06/10/2024 8:04:12 PM PDT by steve86 (Numquam accusatus, numquam ad curiam ibit, numquam ad carcerem™)
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To: steve86
PreserVision Ingredients:
Lutein (500 mg)
Zeaxanthin (2 mg)
Zinc (80 mg)
Copper (2 mg)
Vitamin E (180 mg)

Amazon description also says Vitamin C, but the manufacturer does not list it.

It is supposedly a matches to the nutrient formula recommended by the AMD experts at the National Eye Institute based on the Age Related Eye Disease Study 2 to help reduce the risk of moderate to advanced AMD progression.

The product is made by Bausch & Lomb. They are certainly a trusted brand for optical instruments.


In 2013, findings of the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS2) showed that a dietary supplement formulation containing lutein reduced progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) by 25 percent. However, lutein and zeaxanthin had no overall effect on preventing AMD, but rather "the participants with low dietary intake of lutein and zeaxanthin at the start of the study, but who took an AREDS formulation with lutein and zeaxanthin during the study, were about 25 percent less likely to develop advanced AMD compared with participants with similar dietary intake who did not take lutein and zeaxanthin."

Lutein is a xanthophyll and one of 600 known naturally occurring carotenoids. Lutein is synthesized only by plants, and like other xanthophylls is found in high quantities in green leafy vegetables such as spinach, kale and yellow carrots. In green plants, xanthophylls act to modulate light energy and serve as non-photochemical quenching agents to deal with triplet chlorophyll, an excited form of chlorophyll which is overproduced at very high light levels during photosynthesis. See xanthophyll cycle for this topic.

Animals obtain lutein by ingesting plants. In the human retina, lutein is absorbed from blood specifically into the macula lutea, although its precise role in the body is unknown. Lutein is also found in egg yolks and animal fats.

No recommended dietary allowance currently exists for lutein. Some positive health effects have been seen at dietary intake levels of 6–10 mg/day. Note PreserVision contains 500 mg.


Zeaxanthin is one of the two primary xanthophyll carotenoids contained within the retina of the eye. Zeaxanthin supplements are typically taken on the supposition of supporting eye health. Although there are no reported side effects from taking zeaxanthin supplements, the actual health effects of zeaxanthin and lutein are not proven, and, as of 2018, there is no regulatory approval in the European Union or the United States for health claims about products that contain zeaxanthin.

Lutein and zeaxanthin have identical chemical formulas and are isomers, but they are not stereoisomers. The only difference between them is in the location of the double bond in one of the end rings.

Several observational studies have provided preliminary evidence for high dietary intake of foods including lutein and zeaxanthin with lower incidence of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), most notably the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS2). Because foods high in one of these carotenoids tend to be high in the other, research does not separate effects of one from the other.

Three subsequent meta-analyses of dietary lutein and zeaxanthin concluded that these carotenoids lower the risk of progression from early stage AMD to late stage AMD.

A 2023 (updated) Cochrane review of 26 studies from several countries, however, concluded that dietary supplements containing zeaxanthin and lutein have little to no influence on the progression of AMD. In general, there remains insufficient evidence to assess the effectiveness of dietary or supplemental zeaxanthin or lutein in treatment or prevention of early AMD.

In 2005, the US Food and Drug Administration rejected a Qualified Health Claims application by Xangold, citing insufficient evidence supporting the use of a lutein- and zeaxanthin-containing supplement in prevention of AMD. Dietary supplement companies in the U.S. are allowed to sell lutein and lutein plus zeaxanthin products using dietary supplement, such as "Helps maintain eye health", as long as the FDA disclaimer statement ("These statements have not been evaluated...") is on the label. In Europe, as recently as 2014, the European Food Safety Authority reviewed and rejected claims that lutein or lutein plus zeaxanthin improved vision.

23 posted on 06/10/2024 9:22:24 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom (“When exposing a crime is treated like a crime, you are being ruled by criminals” – Edward Snowden)
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