• Magazine
    • Past Issues
    • Subscribe
    • Change Mailing Address
    • Surveys
    • Guidelines for Authors
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Editorial Deadlines
  • Practice
    • Business Tips
    • Chiropractic Schools
    • Clinical & Technique
    • eBooks
    • eCourses
    • Infographics
    • Quizzes
    • Wellness & Nutrition
    • Personal Growth
    • Podcast
  • Resource Centers
  • Products & Services
    • Buyer’s Guide
    • Products Directory
    • Submit a Product
    • Vendor Login
  • Datebook
    • Become an Events Poster
    • Post an Event
    • View Events
  • Jobs
    • Jobs
    • Post a Job
  • Advertise
    • Advertising Information
    • Media Kit
    • Contact Us
    • Upload Advertising

Your Online Chiropractic Community

Chiropractic Economics Your Online Chiropractic Community
Subscribe
  • Home
  • Current Issue
  • News
  • Webinars
  • Chiropractic Research
  • Students
  • Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Lutein, zeaxanthin, vitamin E may protect against cataracts

Chiropractic Economics January 16, 2008

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Maintaining a diet high in lutein and zeaxanthin — found in yellow or dark leafy vegetables — as well as vitamin E may help protect against the development of cataracts, according to research published in the January issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.

“Although definitive data to guide public health recommendations regarding these and other nutrients in the prevention of cataract will come from randomized trials, a continued recommendation to increase total intake of fruits and vegetables seems warranted,” Dr. William G. Christen, from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, told Reuters Health.

Researchers have hypothesized that oxidative damage can lead to cataract formation and that nutrients with antioxidant capabilities, such as vitamin E, lutein and zeaxanthin, can protect against these changes, Dr. Christen and colleagues note in their report. Lutein and zeaxanthin are the only carotenoids detected in the human lens and the presence of oxidation products of lutein and zeaxanthin in the lens further supports a functional role for these nutrients in maintaining lens clarity, they also note.

Dr. Christen and colleagues studied the relation between dietary intake of carotenoids and vitamin C and E and the risk of cataract in 35,551 women who enrolled in the Women’s Health Study in 1993 and who were followed for an average of 10 years. In detailed comparisons of the diets of 2,031 women who developed cataracts during the study and 33,520 who did not, the research team observed “significant inverse trends” with risk of cataract for dietary intake of lutein/zeaxanthin and vitamin E.

In multivariate analysis, women in the highest quintile of dietary lutein/zeaxanthin intake (about 6,716 µg/day) had an 18% lower risk of cataract relative to those in the lowest quintile (about 1,177 µg/day). Women in the highest quintile of vitamin E intake from food and supplements (about 262.2 mg/day) were 14% less likely than women in the lowest quintile (about 4.4 mg/day).

In this study, higher intake of vitamin C was associated with a “weak, and statistically nonsignificant, inverse association with risk of cataract,” the investigators also report.

These prospective data, Dr. Christen and colleagues note, indicate a decreased risk of cataract with higher intakes of lutein/zeaxanthin and vitamin E.

“Although reliable data from randomized trials are accumulating for vitamin E and other antioxidant vitamins, randomized trial data for lutein/zeaxanthin are lacking,” they note. “Such information will help to clarify the benefits of supplemental use of lutein/zeaxanthin and provide the most reliable evidence on which to base public health recommendations for cataract prevention by vitamin supplementation.”

Arch Ophthalmol 2008;126:102-109.

Related Posts

  • Antioxidant vitamins may reduce cataract riskAntioxidant vitamins may reduce cataract risk
  • Vitamin D may protect lung function in smokersVitamin D may protect lung function in smokers
  • High glycemic diet may raise cataract riskHigh glycemic diet may raise cataract risk
  • Study: Taurine nutrient may have cardiovascular benefitsStudy: Taurine nutrient may have cardiovascular benefits
  • Study: Calcium may help you live longerStudy: Calcium may help you live longer
  • Study: Mediterranean diet helps memoryStudy: Mediterranean diet helps memory

Filed Under: News, Nutrition Supplements News

Current Issue

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube logoYouTube logoYouTube

820 A1A N Highway W18,

Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082

Phone 904.285.6020

Fax 904.395.9118

CONTACT US »

Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

Copyright © 2021, All Rights Reserved

SUBSCRIBE TO THE MAGAZINE

Get Chiropractic Economics magazine
delivered to your home or office. Just
fill out our form to request your FREE
subscription for 20 issues a year,
including two annual Buyers Guides.

SUBSCRIBE NOW »

Latest Chiropractic News

  • World Federation of Chiropractic announces open virtual congress in September
  • Life West marks 40 years of promoting vitalistic chiropractic
    Life West College photo
  • Lifestyle change for women, even in middle age, may reduce future stroke risk