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- Allergic Conjuctivitis
- Amblyopia
- Cataract Surgery
- Central Serous Chorioretinopathy
- Corneal Ulcer
- Diabetic Retinopathy
- Dry Age Related Macular Degeneration
- Dry Eye Syndrome
- Asthenopia or Digital Eyestrain
- Floaters
- Glaucoma
- Juvenile Myopia
- Meibomian Gland Dysfunction
- Ocular Nutrients
- Pink Eye Conjuctivitis
- Post surgical Retinal Oedema
- Pterigyum
- Refractive Surgery
- Uveitis
Ocular Nutrients
Our eyes are a complex organ providing the most useful of our senses. When the eyes are tuned properly to the world around them, and of good health and function, they provide color vision, depth perception, motion detection, vision in both near-dark and bright environments, stereovision, and detailed visual acuity –and they accomplish these things nearly instantaneously. Surely an organ so finely tuned, and so important must have a unique fuel and nutritional requirements to function best.
There are a diverse number of nutrients that are required for healthy eyes and good vision. Nutritional requirements can vary through the lifespan. Most adults eating a balanced diet can obtain all their necessary nutrients through the food they eat without supplementation or use of a multivitamin. If a patient’s diet is not as complete as it should be, a multivitamin can be a good option to provide the patient with a nearly complete allotment of vitamins and minerals.
Deficiencies in particular vitamins can increase the risk of some eye conditions, such as cataracts, glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Research suggests that some vitamin and mineral supplements may help protect against or slow the development of these conditions.
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What Science of Ocular Nutrients has to say?
Plenty of claims are made about the positive effects of supplements on vision and eye health, but very few research studies support these claims. One exception is the Age-Related Eye Disease Studies (AREDS and AREDS2). These are large studies conducted by the National Eye Institute. Results from AREDS 2 took what was learned from AREDS and improved the supplement recommendations.
The studies focused on two conditions that affect millions of Americans, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and cataracts.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD)
AMD is the leading cause of vision loss in the United States. It affects more than 10 million people. It’s mainly associated with aging, but some forms of macular degeneration affect younger people as well.
AMD occurs when there’s deterioration of light-sensitive cells in the macula area of the retina. This is the part of the eye responsible for:
- recording what we see and sending the information to our brains
- seeing fine detail
- focusing
Recommended supplements
AREDS and AREDS2 looked at the effects of high doses of several antioxidants taken together for several years. The final recommendations from AREDS2 were:
| vitamin C | 500 mg |
| vitamin E | 400 IU |
| lutein | 10 mg |
| zeaxanthin | 2 mg |
| zinc | 80 mg |
| copper | 2 mg (taken to prevent copper deficiency caused by zinc) |
This supplement formulation is available in Tablet form and is usually taken twice daily. (Tab VCOLUX)
Results
Participants in the AREDS2 study took one of four supplement formulations that had been identified as potentially beneficial in the AREDS study. Each participant took the supplement daily for five years.
In study participants, the risk of AMD and serious vision loss was reduced by 25 percentTrusted Source over six years. In people with AMD, the condition was slowed only in people with moderate AMD. Supplements were not effective for people with mild or very advanced stages.
Additionally, supplements used in the study did not prevent AMD or restore vision loss.
Lutein and zeaxanthin supplements taken as part of the AREDS2 formulation were seen to reduce the need for cataract surgery by 32 percent in people who initially had low dietary levels of these carotenoids.
The studies were promising and found that there are some benefits to certain supplements, but they won’t have beneficial effects in everyone. More research is needed to better understand the connection between supplements and eye health.
Read MoreThe following supplements, including the antioxidants found in AREDS2 capsules, have been shown to be beneficial for some people.
1. Lutein and zeaxanthin
Lutein and Zeaxanthin are carotenoids. Carotenoids are pigments found in plants and in your retina. Supplementing these pigments helps increase their density in your retina. They also absorb high-energy blue and ultraviolet light that can damage your eyes.
2. Zinc
Also found naturally in your eyes, zinc is a powerful antioxidant that protects against cell damage. Zinc is the primary mineral in the AREDS2 formulation. When taking zinc, copper absorption is lessened. It’s recommended that zinc be combined with copper supplements.
3. Vitamin C
Several large studies show that vitamin C reduces the risk of getting some types of cataracts. Two of these studies also found that a combination of vitamins C and E supplements reduced risk for cataracts and slowed the progression of cataracts.
Ocular Nutrients for Cornea
The cornea is the transparent part of the eye that covers the front portion of the eye. It covers the pupil (the opening at the center of the eye), iris (the colored part of the eye), and anterior chamber (the fluid-filled inside of the eye). The cornea's main function is to refract, or bend, light.
The cornea is composed of proteins and cells. It does not contain blood vessels, unlike most of the tissues in the human body. Blood vessels may cloud the cornea, which may prevent it from refracting light properly and may adversely affect vision.
Since there are no nutrient-supplying blood vessels in the cornea, tears and the aqueous humor (a watery fluid) in the anterior chamber provide the cornea with nutrients.
The other Corneal Disease is Keratoconus
Normal Eye
with Kertoconus
Keratoconus occurs when your cornea — the clear, dome-shaped front surface of your eye — thins and gradually bulges outward into a cone shape. A cone-shaped cornea causes blurred vision and may cause sensitivity to light and glare. Keratoconus usually affects both eyes, though it often affects one eye more than the other. It generally begins to affect people between the ages of 10 and 25. The condition may progress slowly for 10 years or longer.
In the early stages of keratoconus, you might be able to correct vision problems with glasses or soft contact lenses. Later, you may have to be fitted with rigid, gas permeable contact lenses or other types of lenses, such as scleral lenses. If your condition progresses to an advanced stage, you may need a cornea transplant.
A new treatment called corneal collagen cross-linking may help to slow or stop keratoconus from progressing, possibly preventing the need for a future cornea transplant. This treatment may be offered in addition to the vision correction options above.
The Keratoconus condition can be managed by Ocular Nutrients like Copper Gluconate, Vitamin C, Vit B1, Vit B2, Vit B6, Vit B12, Zinc, Manganese and Selenium.
Copper Gluconate
Copper gluconate (or rather, just copper) is by no means a newly discovered mineral. Copper, as it turns out, is extremely important to the body. Even though your body only needs copper in trace amounts, deficiencies can cause vision loss and other harmful side effects. Copper gluconate is highly soluble in water that’s help it to get better absorbed in our human system.
Copper is a much needed mineral for the eyes. Like any well-oiled machine, the eyes need all the minerals and vitamins to work in harmony to be fully functional. That includes copper, even if it’s just a little bit.
One of the main benefits of copper gluconate is how it works to boost the connectivity within the tissues of the eye. This means that copper works to keep the pigmentation (and the melanin) in the eye will stay vibrant for longer, keeping your eyes bright and beautiful.
Copper gluconate has also been suggested to help prevent vision conditions such as Keratoconus. Early research has even suggested that because of copper’s ability to improve connectivity between corneal tissues, it helps in better crosslinking between elastin and collagen fibres.
Copper gluconate can also be found in our Vcolux C . This formula will provide your eyes with all the necessary vitamins and nutrients needed for healthy eyes, including the trace amounts of copper that your body needs.
Read MoreVitamin C
Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is important for human health, the lack of which in diet would cause scurvy. A protective effect of vitamin C has been found in the repair of corneal injury.
Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid) is also known to be involved in the suppression of corneal neovascularization via its antioxidant effects and ability to enhance collagen synthesis. Vitamin C supplementation has a beneficial effect on the healing process of infected corneas and reduces the size of corneal opacity resulting from infectious keratitis.
Zinc
Zinc, a trace element that influences cell metabolism through a variety of mechanisms, appears to play an integral role in maintaining normal ocular function. This element is present in high concentrations in ocular tissue, particularly in retina and choroid. Zinc deficiency has been shown in a number of species to result in a variety of gross, ultrastructural and electrophysiologic ocular manifestations.
Zn deficiency also plays a role in patients with keratoconus.
Vitamin B1 and B12
Oral vitamin B1 and mecobalamin can help nourish and repair the corneal nerve layer to some extent, thereby alleviating burning and photophobia.
Vitamin B2 and Vitamin B6
Riboflavin also absorbs the majority of the UVA radiation, which is potentially cytotoxic and mutagenic, within the anterior stroma, preventing damage to internal ocular structures, such as the corneal endothelium, lens and retina.
Curcumin for Eyes:
What Is Curcumin?
The active nutrient in turmeric is a brightly coloured orange/yellow carotenoid pigment known as curcumin scientific name Curcuma Longa. Curcumin is further classified as a xanthophyll. The eye super-nutrients, zeaxanthin and lutein, are also xanthophylls. While only zeaxanthin and lutein are concentrated in the light-sensitive retina, curcumin acts to support eye health with its antioxidant properties. These properties help to mitigate oxidative stress associated with ocular surface issues (occasional dry eye) and age-related eye health issues.
Benefits of Curcumin
While there is still much to learn, the actions of curcumin have been studied extensively. It has been shown that curcumin has anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-fungal properties. Curcumin also delays gastric emptying after a meal, which has beneficial effects on blood sugar regulation. More recently, curcumin is showing much promise as a neural-protectant. Finally, it acts as an immune modulator, helping to regulate cell function.
How Do You Get These Benefits?
The curcumin in turmeric root is not in a form readily digestible or available for our bodies to absorb. When turmeric is gently heated in oil, curcumin becomes more available for absorption. Since curcumin is a fat-soluble nutrient, the oil also enhances the bioavailability. Black Pepper dramatically increases the body’s ability to absorb curcumin.
Benefits of Curcumin
While there is still much to learn, the actions of curcumin have been studied extensively. It has been shown that curcumin has anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-fungal properties. Curcumin also delays gastric emptying after a meal, which has beneficial effects on blood sugar regulation. More recently, curcumin is showing much promise as a neural-protectant. Finally, it acts as an immune modulator, helping to regulate cell function.
These Benefit of Curcumin Longa, MCT Oil and Piperine formula is found in Laurica K Softules.
Health benefits of Curcumin for eyes:
1. Curcumin for Glaucoma
Glaucoma is irreversible chronic progressive vision loss due to optic nerve damage from eye pressure that’s too high for you. Sometimes glaucoma progresses even when the eye pressure is low. The thought is the nerves are getting damaged at the exit from eye and we need neuro-protection to help prevent progression. This means we need to help the nerve cells suffer stress and not suffer damage. Curcumin has been shown to have neuroprotective properties by inhibiting oxidative damage as well as helping prevent mitochondrial dysfunction.
2. Curcumin for Cornea
The cornea is the clear window on the front part of the eye. Inflammation can cause blood vessels to grow and cover the surface of the eye. The article goes on to say curcumin can help corneal neovascularization (KNV) (blood vessel growth on the cornea/front part of the eye) and different formulations which may help. Curcumin blocks various growth factors and cytokines which can lead to KNV either locally or in your diet. It can help wound healing on the cornea as well.
3. Curcumin for Dry Eye
Dry eye disease is caused low tear production and increased evaporation, both induced by ocular surface inflammation. That’s why we try to address both tear production and prevent evaporation. Curcumin can inhibit inflammatory cytokines which can then decrease the feedback loop which causes dry eye disease. More research needs to be done in this area.
4. Curcumin for Uveitis
Uveitis is an inflammation inside the eye of the uvea. The uvea includes the iris, the ciliary body and the choroid. Uveitis can be in the front, back or both parts of the eye. They report a study from 1999 that showed oral curcumin 375 mg 3x per day helped uveitis.
5. Curcumin in Cataract
Cataract is a clouding or opacification of the lens inside the eye. “It is believed that oxidative damage to the eye lens contributes to the development of different kinds of cataracts. The primary mechanism for the anti-cataract effect of curcumin is through its antioxidant properties.” “…vitamin C may have a preventative role in cataract progression.” Curcumin helps increase vitamin C levels as well. Vitamin E also has been shown to prevent certain types of cataracts. Turmeric and curcumin especially help the progression of diabetic cataracts by modifying the protein aggregation which may lead to lens opacification as well as reducing oxidative stress from excess calcium and nitric oxide.
6. Curcumin for Retina
Curcumin prevents the formation of reactive oxygen species and so it is a good protective agent. Curcumin has shown also anti-inflammatory, and antitumor properties. Curcumin is a natural product, which can be a therapeutic option in a variety of retinal diseases due to its pleiotropic properties.