As you age, you may find your wellbeing is affected by macular degeneration – a chronic eye disease that causes blurred vision and blind spots. However, if you think that taking additional antioxidant supplements on top of your vitamin C, vitamin E and beta carotene will give you an extra wellness boost, a new study suggests that you’d be wasting your time. The US study, appearing in the Journal of the American Medical Association, only noted the extra protective effect of lutein and zeaxanthin in people who started out getting the smallest amount of those nutrients in their diets.
According to Dr Jack Cioffi, head of ophthalmology at Columbia University Medical Centre in New York, who wasn’t involved in the new research, ‘Overall, people were hoping it would be a bigger bang,’ but he would probably recommend people at risk for macular degeneration take lutein and zeaxanthin instead of the previously prescribed beta carotene. The new study found that beta carotene was linked to an increased risk of lung cancer among smokers, and Cioffi commented, ‘If anything, this speaks to the fact that you can use antioxidants other than beta carotene.’
A prior study had shown that a combination of vitamins C and E, beta carotene and zinc could reduce the risk of advanced macular degeneration by about 25%. Lead researcher of the new study, Dr. Emily Chew, of the National Eye Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, explained, ‘We wanted to see if we could improve upon the result – make it a little better, make it a little safer.’ Therefore, some of the original 4,203 study participants, age 50 to 85, who were still taking their initial vitamins and minerals, were given either a combination of lutein and zeaxanthin or two types of omega-3 fatty acids, to add to their supplement regimens.
Yet the researchers found that macular degeneration progressed in 29 to 31% of study participants over the next five years, regardless of whether they were given the extra supplements. Cioffi surmised, ‘It could be that the addition of more antioxidants, and different antioxidants, doesn’t convey any additional benefits, which is probably the truth.’ He added, ‘I think if you’re at all health-conscious and have a well-rounded diet that includes dietary supplements of these antioxidants, you’re probably doing good for more than just your eyes.’
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