Nutrition and diet play an indispensable role in optimal health, and your eyes are no exception, especially as you get older. Lutein and zeaxanthin are vital nutrients for quality eye health. You can use LZ to abbreviate lutein (“lew-teen”) and zeaxanthin (“zee-uh-zan’-thin”). These components are powerful carotenoid antioxidants and phytonutrients. Phytonutrients are nutrients or chemicals derived from plants, existing in some cells of plants, bacteria and algae.
You’ll find them in green leafy vegetables, cantaloupe, carrots, corn, yellow and orange pepper, and egg yolks. Interestingly, your body absorbs the egg yolk carotenoids better than green leafy vegetables. It’s the fat in eggs that helps your body absorb these carotenoids.
With that, carotenoids assist the plants in absorbing light energy that comes from the blue-light spectrum of the sun. Science has identified roughly 700 carotenoids in nature, with 20 to 30 in the body. However, lutein and zeaxanthin are the carotenoids encountered in the eye. These compounds roam the nervous system (brain, nerves and spinal cord). Still, the highest concentration of lutein and zeaxanthin are in the macula lutea of the eye, where they protect the retina against oxidative damage. Thus, lutein and zeaxanthin are vital antioxidants (x, x).
What are Antioxidants?
Antioxidants neutralize harmful free radicals, atoms of oxygen that can cause damage to cells in your body, leading to diseases.
Free radicals are harmful and uncharged molecules wandering unhinged within the body. The toxic by-products of oxygen metabolism, free radicals, are reactive, destructive and short-lived.
Free radicals can create severe issues and disrupt your regular body system if unstopped. They trigger “oxidative stress,” an unhealthy situation where free radicals wreak havoc faster than your body can overcome the devastation. Here, antioxidants from lutein and zeaxanthin softgel capsules may help, thus preventing diseases.
So much research supports the benefits of antioxidants as molecules that rescue your body from oxidative stress. These agents contribute an electron to dismantle the chaotic chain reactions caused by free radicals.
Antioxidant enzymes generate inside your body, but nutrient-rich fresh fruits and vegetables and green tea contain them. Today, it’s best to use health supplements loaded with antioxidants (x).
Besides helping your eyes and being powerful antioxidants, lutein and zeaxanthin softgel capsules may also protect your skin, support heart health, reduce “bad” LDL cholesterol and contribute to your brain health.
Why Lutein and Zeaxanthin Softgel Capsules?
Some individuals may find taking tablets challenging but do not have similar issues with softgel capsules. Softgel capsules are particularly beneficial to those uncomfortable taking pills because softgels are tasteless and go down smoothly. They quickly dissolve and digest when taken orally, providing better absorption in the digestive system. Softgels create an airtight seal of the capsule that increases the vitamin’s shelf life (x).
Improves Patients with Age-Related Macular Degeneration
As mentioned earlier, lutein and zeaxanthin may help sustain your eye health. Let’s delve more into how these two carotenoids improve your vision. A study evaluated the effects of lutein and zeaxanthin on visual function in random controlled trials of patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
AMD is a progressive degenerative disease affecting the central area of the retina, resulting in severe visual impairment. It’s the foremost cause of irreversible blindness for people over 65.
The study involved 1176 patients supplemented with LZ with noticeable improvements in the macular pigment optical density. The positive results supported lutein and zeaxanthin supplementation as a workable and safe treatment for improving the visual functionality of AMD patients (x).
Another study associated the intake of lutein and zeaxanthin plus other multiple nutrients with decreased chances of progression into AMD (x).
Over 12 months, 52 patients with early AMD, separated into three groups, received different macular carotenoid formulas:
- 20 mg lutein and 2 mg zeaxanthin
- 10 mg meso-zeaxanthin (third dominant carotenoid in the macular), 10 mg lutein, and 2 mg zeaxanthin
- 17 mg meso-zeaxanthin, 3 mg lutein, and 2 mg zeaxanthin
The results proved that lutein and zeaxanthin were beneficial in treating early AMD. The formulas that included high doses of meso-zeaxanthin with lutein and zeaxanthin proved to work even better (x).
Prevent Cataracts
A cataract clouds the eye lens, developing loss of vision. Cloudy or blurred vision, faded color vision or problems with light (glare from lamps, sunlight appearing too bright, car headlights) are common signs of cataracts forming in your eye (x).
Lutein and zeaxanthin help save the lens cells from ultraviolet light damage, the foremost cause of cataract formation. A study proved that these two components decrease the oxidative stress that causes cataracts (x).
Inadequate intake of antioxidants seems to cause this disease, so increasing the intake of lutein and zeaxanthin prevents cataracts from forming (x). Studies report that patients who take these two carotenoids have a lower risk of cataract extraction surgery.
These studies significantly support taking lutein and zeaxanthin softgel capsules for those who have AMD or may develop cataracts. Like all supplements, check with your healthcare provider before taking any new supplements.
Supports Cognitive Health in Older Adults
Taking lutein and zeaxanthin softgel capsules may help older adults have better cognitive word recall, according to a study performed on 6390 respondents 50 or older. Participants substantially increased their lutein and zeaxanthin by eating dark yellow, leafy, and cruciferous vegetables (such as cauliflower, broccoli, kale and cabbage), fish and seafood, eggs, legumes and fruit.
The study’s conclusion showed that high consumption of these foods increased the intake of lutein and zeaxanthin. Thus, the older adults improved word recall (x).
Another study supports taking lutein and zeaxanthin softgel capsules based on a community-dwelling of older women and men. The study comes from the premise that high levels of LZ in the central nervous system improve cognitive function in older people.
The study reported by Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience says it was a double-mask, randomized, placebo-control trial. Sixty-two older adults took part with 12 mg of lutein and zeaxanthin administered. The analysis concentrated on the participant’s macular pigment optical density (MPOD) and measured cognitive function using a computerized test platform.
Results proved advances in complex attention and cognitive flexibility, concluding that LZ improved these older men’s and women’s thought processes (x).
More studies report similar findings, which positively reinforce the availability of treating old age diseases with supplementation. Remember to review with your doctor first before taking any new supplements.
Lightens and Improves Skin Conditions
Several studies show that lutein and zeaxanthin supplementation can improve the skin and lighten it. The reason is that these carotenoids filter blue light from the sun and protect the skin from other environmental factors such as high-energy sources. Thus, LZ may block the formation of melanin, a natural skin pigment pathway. And decrease cytokines, which lowers inflammation and increases antioxidants.
One study performed on 50 healthy people over 12 weeks as a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled trial proved that those who took LZ improved overall. Lutein and zeaxanthin supplementation lighten skin and promote better skin conditions (x).
Another study showed the long-term benefits of taking LZ orally and topically. Because of exposure to many environmental onslaughts, skin can experience premature aging. Ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths of sunlight are one of them. The five parameters of this study comprised surface lids, hydration, skin elasticity, photoprotective activity and skin lipid peroxidation – malondialdehyde in human participants.
The immediate defense against UV wavelength and other environmental assaults is antioxidants and the bolstering of antioxidants with lutein and zeaxanthin. As a combination, the results proved participants received maximum benefits from lutein and zeaxanthin. LZ also provided the highest antioxidant protection (x).
Reduce the Risk of Cancer
Research shows lutein and zeaxanthin help reduce the chance of certain types of cancer, such as breast and lung (x). Studies also show a relationship between consuming foods rich in carotenoids and minimizing the chances of getting premenopausal breast cancer (x).
An extensive study of 83.234 healthy women evaluated the connection between carotenoid intake and breast cancer. it showed that taking lutein and zeaxanthin supplements may lower the chances of breast cancer in premenopausal women (x).
Another study of 540 women who did not have a high intake of these two carotenoids had an increased risk of breast cancer (x).
More studies support the positive results of preventing cancer by taking lutein and zeaxanthin. Before initiating any new supplement, check with your physician.
Prevent Heart Disease
Studies show that lutein and zeaxanthin prevent heart disease and stroke (x). Oxidative stress on your body can cause your arteries to close up, making it harder to pump blood through your body — called low-density lipoprotein (LDL). This causes causing inflammation that attracts fatty plaques to the artery, which is atherosclerosis.
As mentioned earlier, these two carotenoids help reduce free radical oxidation stress. A study found that lutein can prevent cell damage along the artery wall and protect the system from atherosclerosis.
Other studies on both mice and humans show that increasing your lutein intake may protect your body from early atherosclerosis (x).
Lutein and Zeaxanthin Dosage
Based on what your healthcare provider recommends is the dosage of lutein and zeaxanthin softgel capsules you should take. In general, as a daily supplement, the recommendation is one softgel (lutein 8800 mcg and zeaxanthin 200 mcg) a day. If you consume foods rich in carotenoids, you may want to modify the recommended dose.
Lutein and Zeaxanthin Side Effects and Cautions
Lutein and zeaxanthin are safe to take with no significant side effects. Some report yellowing of the skin, but even that is rare. A study performed on rats found no adverse effects when administering a concentrated amount of LZ as high as 400 mg a day (x).
If you consume many fruits and vegetables, mainly green leaf vegetables, you’re getting your daily requirement of lutein and zeaxanthin. But, if you have potential AMA, cancer or heart disease, you might want to talk with your doctor about increasing your LZ intake.
Where to Buy Lutein and Zeaxanthin Softgel Capsules?
You can purchase Lutein and Zeaxanthin Softgel Capsules at BulkSupplements.com. The company is an industry-leading manufacturer and distributor of pure dietary supplements. BulkSupplements.com is not just a consumer brand. It also supplies pure ingredients to other brands that distribute food and other supplement products. All products at BulkSupplements.com are manufactured and tested according to current and proper manufacturing practices.
Are you interested in trying lutein and zeaxanthin as a dietary softgel capsules supplement for its potential to support cognitive function, healthy aging, eye health, cancer prevention and nerve function? Contact BulkSupplements.com to place an order today.
The Bottom Line
Eating a satisfactory amount of fruits and vegetables is imperative for your overall health and well-being. Your body should get enough carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin—specifically, green leafy vegetables, cantaloupe, carrots, corn, and yellow and orange pepper. Egg yolks have a relatively high concentration of lutein and zeaxanthin.
But supplementation sometimes proves beneficial when your body needs an additional boost. We are fortunate to have scientific advances to measure specific carotenoids in foods and tissues, leading to evidence that lutein and zeaxanthin support health and guard against chronic disease (x).
The most substantial evidence is their role in eye health because of their exclusive presence in your eye’s tissues. They help prevent cataracts, and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is substantial enough to improve our lives.
LZ also protects your body against certain kinds of cancer, like skin, lung and breast cancers. While they also help prevent atherosclerotic build-up by hindering fatty plaque formation and cell damage along your artery walls (x).
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.