Question: What if I’m NOT a good candidate to take the AREDS2 supplement? What should I be doing?
Question: “What if I’m NOT a good candidate to take the AREDS2 supplement? What should I be doing?”
Who is NOT a good candidate to take the AREDS2 supplement? That would be those who do not have AMD (family history or not) or have early AMD. That’s because the AREDS2 formulation has not been tested for those with no AMD and only tested in the first AREDS study for those with early AMD where they showed no benefit.
1. There’s lots of research that says that the best sources of important nutrients are from food. Click here for a great article that covers each aspect of an Anti-AMD Diet including why the Mediterranean way of eating, flavonoids found in oranges and carotenoids like lutein and zeaxanthin and anti-inflammatories are beneficial.
2. Click here for a good video by an the eye specialist who covers the important aspects of an eye healthy diet including fish like salmon 2-3 times a week and a cup of spinach or other dark leafy vegetable a day, nuts regularly and keeping the carbs in the low range of the Glycemic Index (GI). His bottom line: If you don’t eat healthy, then consider supplements but always choose good foods first.
3. Professor John Nolan, Director of the Nutrition Research Centre Ireland, has been studying carotenoids for 20 years. His research found that we have 3 carotenoids in our macula (lutein, zeaxanthin, and meso-zeaxanthin; LMZ) in a clump of cells called macular pigment. Macular Pigment protects the rods and cones, our photoreceptors, from blue light, and also supplies antioxidants to them. Carotenoids come strictly from plants especially leafy green veggies and if we don’t eat them, we don’t have any macular pigment! We need a good and constant supply of LMZ. He found that at least 15% of the population is deficient in LMZ. He also found that although lutein comes from many foods, zeaxanthin is found in less foods, and meso-zeaxanthin only in fish skin and shellfish. Some people convert lutein to zeaxanthin and meso-zeaxanthin, but not everyone so supplementation with LMZ is a safe way to be sure we’re getting the LMZ we need for healthy pigment. Since the eye are part of the brain, what’s good for the eyes is good for the brain.
To learn about Dr. Nolan’s research, I recommend that that you listen to the September 3rd, 2021, podcast from BroadEye titled ‘Age-related Macular Degeneration, Supplementation, and Key Research Findings in the Field of Ocular Nutrition – Prof. John Nolan.’