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Today's Daily Health Tip
Zeaxanthin: Helping Your Eyesight
by Hiyaguha Cohen     Each week we highlight a lesser-known healthy ingredient to help you round out your diet. This week's featured ingredient, zeaxanthin, is a carotenoid found in the retina of the human eye. As you might assume, its health benefits are directly related to the eyes and may help significantly with the prevention of macular degeneration. Its main function, however, is to filter out near-to-UV sunlight to help protect your eyes from potentially damaging sunrays.1 As a group, carotenoids are phytonutrients that protect plants from damage caused by UV radiation and other environmental factors. In humans, they have been shown to inhibit the proliferation of various types of cancer cells such as those affecting the lungs, stomach, cervix, breast, bladder, and mouth. They also have been proven to protect against atherosclerosis, cataracts, macular degeneration (as we just mentioned) and other major degenerative disorders. The key carotenoids are: beta carotene, alpha carotene, lycopene, lutein, and zeaxanthin.
The body does not naturally produce zeaxanthin, making vegetables and fruits with this carotenoid a good staple in any diet. Some foods that contain zeaxanthin include peaches, celery, zucchini, mango, orange pepper, kiwi fruit, lettuce, kale, broccoli, grapes, green beans, squash, sweet potatoes, and carrots. Egg yolks, spinach, and corn also have high concentrations of zeaxanthin.3
As mentioned previously, zeaxanthin is thought to play a major role in the prevention of macular degeneration. This condition can cause blurred vision and possible blindness as a person ages. In a Scandinavian medical report published in the Scandinavian medical journal "Acta Opthalmological Scandinavica," studies found that patients with a low intake of zeaxanthin were twice as likely to suffer macular degeneration than those who ate a diet high in zeaxanthin.1* Zeaxanthin's antioxidant effect is significantly enhanced by the presence of lutein and bilberry. When combined with vitamin C, these three antioxidants have been shown to significantly decrease the risk of cataracts.
If preserving your eyesight wasn't enough of a task for this carotenoid, there is also evidence that it may actually inhibit the growth of certain types of skin cancer as well.2
The best part about zeaxanthin is if you're eating the recommended allowances of fruits and vegetables daily (2 cups of fruit and 2 ½ cups of vegetables), you're probably already consuming a good portion of this carotenoid. This is especially true if your diet consists of the consumption of dark green and starchy vegetables such as corn and squash several times a week.3
For a deeper look at zeaxanthin and how it is used in a formula, click here.
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(1) http://www.livestrong.com/article/538239-benefit-of-zeaxanthin/
(*) "Acta Opthalmologica Scandinavica"; Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Its Relationship to Antioxidant Intake; E. L. Snellen et al.; August 2002
(2) "Experimental Dermatology"; Zeaxanthin Inhibits PDGF-BB-induced Migration in Human Dermal Fibroblasts; N. L. Wu; August 2010
(3) http://www.livestrong.com/article/69957-sources-zeaxanthin/
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