Watching the sunset over Santa Monica. The first time I laid eyes on my future spouse. Seeing the actors bring the stage to life at Broadway. Some of the best moments in my life have been defined by sight.
As much as I have treated my eyes to great sights, I have also seriously neglected my favorite sense. Perhaps you have too.
What are you reading this blog on right now? A phone? Desktop? Tablet? Laptop?
However you are choosing to devour this review, chances are your eyes are being strained by the blue light cutting through your cornea and lens and reaching your retina. And if you’re reading 1 2 this article in the dim glow of night light? Even worse.
The truth is, staring at a screen without blue light filters is just one of the many things we do on a daily basis that harm our eyes. From stepping outside without sunglasses, drinking too much wine (guilty!), or applying a second coat of mascara, many daily activities can strain our eyes.
Just as there are many things we do daily that harm our eyes, there are also things we can do to take care of them. Eating a healthy and balanced diet is a great start.
And no, I don’t just mean carrots.
Your eyes need a broad range of antioxidants and vitamins to stay healthy.3 4 These include lutein, zeaxanthin, vitamin A or beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, and zinc. Eyes can benefit from nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids too.
You should work towards a diet low in fats and rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Specifically, consider including green leafy vegetables, salmon, tuna, and other oily fish, nuts, seeds, and eggs. If you follow a paleo or caveman diet, congratulations: you may be meeting your eye’s nutrition needs! However, for the average American on the average American diet, it is tricky to meet the recommended intake of vitamins and minerals.
What is Lutenol?
Lutenol is a supplement designed to provide the “nutritional vision support” that is lacking in so many diets. The supplement claims to support healthy eye function as well as retina, lens, & macula health. So far so good. I think overall these claims are fair to say. It’s not promising anything outrageous like reversing eye damage or improving vision, which we should know is unreasonable.
When I compared the ingredients to my research, I was impressed. Lutenol includes nearly everything you should look for in eyesight nutrition. This includes vitamins A, C, E, zinc, lutein, and zeaxanthin. Other antioxidant-supporting ingredients in Lutenol include N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC), rutin, quercetin,
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1 https://www.allaboutvision.com/cvs/blue-light.htm
2 Zhao ZC, Zhou Y, Tan G, Li J. Research progress about the effect and prevention of blue light on eyes. Int J Ophthalmol . 2018;11(12):1999-2003. Published 2018 Dec 18. doi:10.18240/ijo.2018.12.20
3 Buscemi S, Corleo D, Di Pace F, Petroni ML, Satriano A, Marchesini G. The Effect of Lutein on Eye and Extra-Eye Health. Nutrients . 2018;10(9):1321. Published 2018 Sep 18. doi:10.3390/nu10091321
4 Chen Y, Mehta G, Vasiliou V. Antioxidant defenses in the ocular surface. Ocul Surf . 2009;7(4):176-185. doi:10.1016/s1542-0124(12)70185-4
and lycopene. I would love if a future version of Lutenol included krill oil or some fatty fish oils, but I understand that you probably can’t fit oil in a powder capsule!
Looking at other supplements available, it seems like eye supplements fall into two categories. They are either focused on one ingredient (hello Lutein!) or they have a comprehensive blend. I always lean towards the comprehensive blends. Chances are my diet could benefit from a range of vitamins and antioxidants rather than relying on just one concentrated ingredient.
Prices vary quite a bit between vision supplements, however, Lutenol seems totally reasonable at around $0.46USD per capsule. Lutenol wins brownie points for me being non-GMO and made in the US. Both are two ticks for trustworthiness ✓✓
What are the ingredients in Lutenol?
Each “serving” of Lutenol is 2 capsules, meaning you take 2 capsules daily. Below are some of the main ingredients for eyesight:
● Vitamin A 40% daily value: 4 boiled eggs
● Vitamin C 333% daily value: 4 oranges
● Vitamin E 136% daily value: 1 cup of almonds
● Zinc 213% daily value: 2 ½ cups of pumpkin seeds
Copper has been added at 100% the daily value, presumably to ‘balance out’ the high dose of zinc.5 You can get this much copper from 2 cups of raw avocado per day - a lot of monounsaturated fat!
Other foods rich in these nutrients include beef liver, heart, and kidneys - not exactly my palette. I’m pretty skeptical that I eat enough ‘whole foods’ to get these vitamins and antioxidants in my diet.
Lutein & Zeaxanthin
These antioxidants are found in many vision support supplements, sometimes on their own. You can find these potent antioxidants in your eyes as well as many vegetables. Because they are concentrated naturally in the eyes, many health experts understand they are essential to healthy eye function.
When found in the eyes, these antioxidants help form a shield, protecting your eyes from harmful high-energy light waves. They act as a natural ‘eye sunblock’, absorbing excess light energy and protecting your eyes from harmful blue light.6
As I mentioned before, these carotenoids are found in the eye. Specifically, they are found in the retina, with high-concentration in the macula region. The macula is essential for vision and including these antioxidants in your diet is believed to support the macula.
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5 Rasmussen HM, Johnson EJ. Nutrients for the aging eye. Clin Interv Aging . 2013;8:741-748. doi:10.2147/CIA.S45399
6 Roberts JE, Dennison J. The Photobiology of Lutein and Zeaxanthin in the Eye. J Ophthalmol . 2015;2015:687173. doi:10.1155/2015/687173
Vitamin A
Lutenol uses the ACE vitamins for vision support - vitamins A, C, and E.
While lutenol and zeaxanthin work largely on the macula at the back of the eye, vitamin A plays a crucial role in maintaining a clear cornea, which is the outside covering of your eye.
Ever been told, “carrots will help you see in the dark?” When I was young, and my career aspirations stretched to no less than spy or ninja , the idea of night vision led to me chomping down carrots like a happy rabbit. If you were like me, you’re in luck - there is some truth to the old adage.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is an essential nutrient, meaning your body can’t obtain it and it needs to be obtained from the diet. As far as I know, in the animal world, it’s only us primates, bats, and guinea pigs that can’t make their own vitamin C.
Honestly, I was a bit confused to see vitamin C included. It doesn’t directly affect vision like vitamin A does. This vitamin plays an important role in the formation of collagen. Now I used to think collagen was only good for helping keep wrinkles at bay - apparently, that is only one of the minor benefits of
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collagen! Collagen is an important building block of blood vessels, tendons, ligaments, and bone. Collagen is used to provide structure throughout the eyes.
Because it’s such a great antioxidant, vitamin C is thought to regenerate other antioxidants in the eye itself. So while I wouldn’t take just vitamin C on its own and expect comprehensive vision support, it definitely is an excellent tool for all-round body support including the eyes.
Vitamin E
The retina is highly concentrated in fatty acids. These fatty acids are an integral part of all cell membranes that help protect the eye. Free radicals attack these fats to break down the retina unless the oxidation process is stopped.
Enter vitamin E, an essential fat-soluble antioxidant. This antioxidant works to counteract the oxidation process started by free radicals. There are a huge number of benefits to a healthy dietary intake of vitamin E, including for your skin, liver, and brain.
Zinc
Your eyes contain high levels of zinc, and besides playing essential roles in a number of enzymes, cell membranes, and immune cells, in the eyes, it forms a part of ‘superoxide dismutase’ which is a specialized antioxidant that scavenges ‘superoxide radicals’. What’s more, zinc also plays a role in cellular signaling and nerves. It’s no wonder many optometrists recommend a healthy intake of zinc.9
Another useful role of zinc is helping transport vitamin A, the vitamin that our eyes love. Zinc helps move along vitamin A from the liver to the retina to produce melanin, a pigment that helps protect the eyes.
Zinc serves many purposes in the body outside of the eyes, so it is certainly worth making sure you are getting enough of this trace mineral daily.
Overall, I think Lutenol is a solid vision supplement.
I’m looking forward to seeing if this will make a difference for me. The supplements have a great mix of ingredients for supporting an important primary sense.
Always talk to your healthcare professional before using any dietary supplement.
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9 Rasmussen HM, Johnson EJ. Nutrients for the aging eye. Clin Interv Aging . 2013;8:741-748. doi:10.2147/CIA.
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