Glaucoma Prevention with Antioxidant both in Carotenoid Supplements and Diet - By: RandaFritch

Age-related eye diseases like glaucoma have been increasing, though not widely prevalent, along with other degenerative diseases such as cancer, heart disease, arthritis and Alzheimer's. Four million Americans now suffer from glaucoma, with the leading cause of blindness in USA. Approximately 120,000 of these people have actually gone blind from glaucoma. In America, ten percent of the population between the age of 66 and 74 and thirty percent of the population from 75-85 have macular degeneration. These numbers are so astonishing. In fact, antioxidants in people¡¯s diet can prevent the occurrence of age-related diseases like glaucoma. According to studies, diets rich in antioxidants may help reduce the disease risk.

Antioxidants called carotenoids which can be found in fruit and vegetables that are red, orange, and deep yellow, like carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, tomatoes, corn, and peppers are the most important ones to prevent the degenerative eye problems. Dark-green leafy vegetables and egg yolks are also incredibly nutritious food. The former is the good source of carotenoids and the latter is rich in lutein and zeaxanthin.Dark green vegetables are another good source of lutein and zeaxanthin, for example, kale, spinach, turnip greens, collard greens, romaine lettuce, broccoli, zucchini, garden peas and brussels sprouts, corn, kiwi and honeydew.Your eyes will probably get all the antioxidants they need for glaucoma prevention if you eat a lot of food according to this list every day. However, I doubt that this only covers a very small range of the sources. Carotenoids supplement would be another choice.

If you're not interested in these foods, or you already have some symptoms of degenerative eye disease, nutritional supplements specifically designed for eye nutrition would be your best solution. Taking carotene supplements is so powerful that a single capsule can provide you with 25,000 International Units of mixed carotenes, an amount large enough to get powerful antioxidant protection from cancer and heart disease, as well as eye problems. Then you'd have to eat these amounts of any one of the following to get that much from your diet: medium-sized cooked carrots, cups of collard greens, cups of spinach, sweet potatoes, cups of cantaloupe and cups of red peppers.

Mixed-carotene supplements which combine natural and mixed carotenes into one capsule are the best carotenoid supplements for glaucoma prevention. The carotene content of these supplements is usually listed in international units (IU). Products made from an algae called Dunaliella salina, in amounts of from 10,000IU to 25,000IU of beta carotene, typically including the carotenoids alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and cryptoxanthin. Lutein and zeaxanthin are the only carotenoids for the retina and lens of the eye. When combined with vitamin C and vitamin E, they can protect your eyes from free radical damage and improve your vision by filtering out potentially-dangerous ultraviolet radiation from the sun. There are other supplements which can benefit your eyes like bilberry, ginkgo biloba, astaxanthin and eyesight combination products.

Bilberry combined with lutein and zeaxanthin is another way for you to get more protection and treat specific eye problems. It usually contains 10 to 20mg of lutein and about 1mg of zeaxanthin, which would be the equivalent of eating about 3 cups of cooked spinach or a dozen and a half eggs. 40mg per day of bilberry is often for preventive measures, 160mg per day for a therapeutic dose.

Ginkgo Biloba, an herbal supplement increasing blood flow in the capillary network and repairs oxidative stress damage to the capillary walls and retina has also been extremely beneficial for eye health. Ginkgo is certainly a valuable part of a glaucoma prevention program, as well as for cataracts and macular degenefration.

Carotenoid astaxanthin extracted from microalgae is another relatively new discovery for eye problems. Astaxanthin is one of both the most powerful antioxidants and the few antioxidants that can cross the blood-retinal barrier and protect eyes. It is said to be more beneficial for the eyes in some ways than lutein in working all throughout the body -- organs and skin, and in every part of the cell. There are antioxidant combinations specially formulated for eyesight, including any number of nutrients beneficial for the eyes. The advantage of one combination capsule is that the dosages of each will be lower than separate supplements.

Carotenoid supplements are very helpful, but it will never replace all of the phyto-nutrients in the foods themselves. Diet is an essential part of any glaucoma prevention program, so don't drop out the veggies altogether!

About the Author

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