Macular Degeneration Vitamins - Lutein with Bilberry

I have had macular degeneration since 2002. I take Areds,(Eye Vitamin and Mineral Supplement).

They have no lutein or billberry in them. Recently Dr. tells me that I have lost some vision but it is still dry.

Should I be adding lutein and billberry to my supplements or should I be purchasing a brand that contains the lutein and billberry?

REPLY

There are many macular degeneration nutritional supplements, from multivitamins to eye care formulas to products containing only lutein or lutein with bilberry.

Lutein benefits the macular pigment by increasing the density of the macular pigment and helps with cataract prevention.

The AREDS 2 Study is looking at adding lutein, zeaxanthin and omega-3's to the original AREDS formula. In anticipation of positive results many vitamins for eyes are now including lutein.

To help you decide here is some info on lutein and bilberry:

Lutein and Bilberry Supplements.

Kind Regards,

Leslie Degner, RN, BSN

Macular Degeneration Vitamins - Tozal

by Sharon
(United States)

Do you have any information on Tozal? My eye doctor recommended it.


Thank you.
Sharon

REPLY

Hi Sharon,

Dr. Edward Paul, the researcher and inventor of the patented TOZAL Comprehensive Eye Health Formula, has done an an e-interview for WebRN-MacularDegeneration. Find out what he has to say about these macular degeneration vitamins:

Tozal - Macular Degeneration Vitamins

Leslie Degner, RN, BSN

Macular Degeneration Vitamins - UK

(london UK)

Do you know where I can purchase Dr Grossman's Advanced Eye and Vision Formula pills in the UK please?

Many thanks.

Natasha

REPLY

Hi Natasha,

We order our Advanced Eye and Vision Support vitamins from the Natural Eye care website and have them shipped to us. The vitamins can't be bought in stores. I did check with Michael Edson and they do ship to the UK. If you decide to use their whole food vitamins you may want to do the most economical plan of a 12 month supply. It is much cheaper and you only pay shipping once.

Advanced Eye and Vision Support

Kind Regards,

Leslie Degner, RN, BSN

Macular Degeneration Vitamins

by Susie
(Oak Lawn, IL)

In January of this year, I was diagnosed with MS and I just turned 64 years old. I was totally shocked being very healthy all my life. My dad had AMD, and I tried to exercise and eat healthy, hoping that I would not get age related macular degeneration.

I went for my regular eye exam, and the eye doctor told me I had dry AMD in both eyes. He sent me to see a retina specialist.

I went to a retina specialist and he told me I had macular drusen in both eyes, and eventually, I will get wet AMD. He told me to take Preservision AREDS formula and to check back with him in 6 months.

I eat organic, and non GMO whole foods, including fruits and vegetables.

I read the ingredients and it is full of sludge, I call it, for example soybean oil, dyes and other pharmaceutical additives! Also, the AREDS formula has high zinc levels and high vitamin A.

I am worried about this vitamin. Is there another alternative that I can take, maybe the Advanced Eye and Vision support formula from Natural Eye Care? Does this have zinc in it?

Can juicing greens, carrots, and fruit replace the AREDs formula?

Any advice you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Susie

REPLY

Hi Susie,

I'm sorry to hear about your MS and AMD diagnoses. Sounds like you are doing a good job with eating healthy foods, but it seems that the genetic factor has affected your eyes.

Dr. Lylas Mogk the author of Macular Degeneration: The Complete Guide to Saving and Maximizing Your Sight, states:

"Although taking any vitamin or mineral supplement is likely to be better than taking none at all, there are good reasons for choosing natural vitamins that are cold processed and that use vegetable coatings rather than food varnish coatings."

She explains that vegetable coatings allow for better digestion and don't include artificial ingredients that can actually be harmful.

The macular degeneration vitamins from Natural Eye Care don't exactly match up with the AREDS ingredients, because instead of synthetic vitamins they actually use real food and use a vegetable cellulose capsule. It has no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. This is what we are taking (my husband's father has wet AMD and so we are trying to prevent it). If you decide to use this eye vitamin regularly the least expensive option is to buy the 12 month supply to save on shipping costs.

Advanced Eye and Vision Support

I don't know that juicing replaces the AREDS formula, but after reading Raw Juices Can Save Your Life and Juicing for Life: A Guide to the Benefits of Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Juicing we decided to get a juicer and start incorporating fresh juices into our diet.

Learn more here:

Juicing for Health

Thanks for your questions.

Kind Regards,

Leslie Degner, RN, BSN

Macular Degeneration Vitamins

by Razia
(Rawalpindi, Islamabad)

Presently, my left eye is badly affected. I had 7 Avastin injections in it so far. Doctor will re-examine it after 2 months now.

Right eye is safe and I keep a close watch on it to immediately note if at all any weakness occurs.

I take one tablet daily of vitamin Xanovit Extra containing the following ingredients:
20 mg Lutein with Natural Zeaxanthin, Silymarin, Chromium.

All these nutrients are originated from natural source. No synthetic ingredients are used.

Can you please clarify as to how much benefit can be expected from these eye vitamins at least to save the right eye? Any better medication or macular degeneration vitamin?

REPLY

Dear Razia,

Thanks for your question. Lutein and zeaxanthin are vitamins for macular degeneration that are well known for their beneficial effect on the macular pigment.

There are many good macular degeneration vitamins. To learn more about the different ones that are available click here:
Macular Degeneration Vitamins.

Please note that while eye vitamins are important, it is just as important to include foods that are anti-inflammatory and to eliminate foods that are pro-inflammatory.

To learn more about an anti-inflammatory or macular degeneration diet click here:

Anti-inflammatory Diet.


Kind Regards,

Leslie Degner, RN, BSN
Better Health for Better Vision

Antioxidant Health Supplement

by Cassie

I have a question. For those of us who do not like teas or certain berries, would a pill containing these types of foods/drinks work just as well?

Thanks.

REPLY

Hi Cassie,

That is a great question. My husband, who is at a higher risk of developing AMD, does not like tea nor does he eat lots of vegetables.

So he is taking an antioxidant health supplement
that contains whole foods that are rich in antioxidants.

Bilberry, wild blueberries, lutein and zeaxanthin are just some of the good ingredients. He takes two a day - one in the morning and one in the evening.

Kind Regards,

Leslie

Vitamins for Macular Degeneration - Which Ones?

by Dale
(United States)

There are so many supplement to choose from it leaves a person dizzy, please help me.

I have type 2 diabetes and macular-degeneration in my right eye.

REPLY

Hi Dale,

Supplementing intelligently is definitely a challenge. There are so many options. Many of the macular degeneration supplements are based on the Age Related Eye Disease Study. (AREDS)

The Age Related Eye Disease Study 2 study is looking at adding lutein, zeaxanthin and omega-3's to the original AREDS formula. So even though study results are not out yet, many eye supplements are adding these nutrients to their formula. Most of these are made from synthetic ingredients.

Dr. Edward Paul, an optometrist with a PhD in nutrition developed Tozal, which are vitamins for macular degeneration. He did an e-interview for us and you can read it here:

Tozal - Macular Degeneration Vitamins

The other option is to use whole food supplements. One of the main benefits of using whole food vitamins includes the ability of the body to absorb and use foods rather than artificially made vitamins. There are many co-factors in a whole food that are not in a synthetic vitamin. These co-factors help the body better utilize the essential nutrients.

My husband does not have macular degeneration, he is just at risk for it because of a strong family history. So we have decided to go with whole food supplements. We use the Advanced Eye & Vision Support Formula by Natural Eye Care. If this interests you, you can actually e-mail or call Dr. Marc Grossman to discuss what is best for you before making a purchase.

Here is their website:

Vision Health Treatment Options & Nutrient Recommendations

Kind Regards,

Leslie Degner, RN, BSN

Vitamins for Macular Degeneration

by Rosalie
(United States)

I have non-exudative intermediate AMD.

What is the best vitamin supplement you would advise me to take?

A product called MacularProtect Complete was suggested. Do you know this product and do you recommend
it?

Thank-you.

Rosalie

REPLY

Vitamins for macular degeneration often include antioxidants and minerals that were used in the Age Related Eye Disease Study and many are now including the ingredients in the yet to be completed AREDS 2 Study.

The AREDS 2 vitamins include 10 mg lutein and 2 mg zeaxanthin and 350 mg DHA and 650 mg EPA (2 soft-gel capsules).

According to their website MacularProtect Complete is a multi-vitamin and has the AREDS formula ingredients along with 10 mg of FloraGLO® lutein and 1 mg zeaxanthin.

I prefer to see vitamins have what is called Good Manufacturing Practices Certified.

I don't see that they have this on their website, but you could call and find out if their vitamins are GMP certified.

Good Manufacturing Practices is a certification that a vitamin or supplement company will proudly display. This is a third-party certification program which includes inspections of manufacturing facilities to determine whether specified performance standards are being met.

Kind Regards,

Leslie Degner, RN, BSN

Nutritional Supplements for Macular Degeneration

by Dori
(United States)

Deciding on which supplement to purchase is very difficult. Currently I am on Preservision.

However I know this company is conducting trials on higher doses of Lutein as a followup, plus including Xeaxanthin. I would suppose that you make money from purchases made through this website, which is fine as long as I'm assured your first goal is disseminating correct information.

I'm also wondering your thoughts about anti inflammatory diets, since my retinal specialist told me, all disease processes are inflammation-related. I am also an RN.

Answer

Hi Dori,

You bring up several good points. When you visit WebRN-MacularDegeneration.com I hope you find useful and helpful information about prevention, treatment, clinical trials, and resources to assist you or loved ones in coping with this eye disease.

WebRN-MacularDegeneration has some affiliations with companies we use ourselves and are proud to recommend to our readers. We are able to earn a small commission if you click from our site to one of these companies.

Example:

If you decide you would like to try a magnifier that we like and you click on the link it takes you to the company where this product is sold.

If you purchase the product WebRN-MacularDegeneration is credited with a very small portion of that sale.

That said there is a page on Vitamins for Macular Degeneration that informs you about different companies and options. To go to that page click here:

Vitamins for Macular Degeneration

I am so glad to hear that your retina specialist recommended an anti-inflammatory diet. Many people are not aware of what this means and how it affects our bodies and our eyes.

According to Dr. Michael A. Samuel, the author of Macular Degeneration: A Complete Guide for Patients and Their Families,

"Modern research into AMD has found that inflammation plays a clear role in the development of the dry form of this disease."

His book is the best at explaining the role of inflammation and also gives great diet and recipe ideas for a non-inflammatory diet.

To learn more about an anti-inflammatory diet click here:

Anti-Inflammatory Diet

Leslie Degner, RN, BSN

Vitamins for Macular Degeneration - Tozal

by William

What is your opinion of Tozal?

REPLY

Hi William,

There are many good macular degeneration vitamins - with so many options it indeed is hard to decide which ones to take.

These vitamins for macular degeneration were developed by Dr. Edward Paul, a low vision specialist with a Ph.D. in nutrition. Dr. Paul's specialty is age-related macular degeneration (AMD). It is by prescription only which may mean that your insurance may pay for them. Here is an interview we did with Dr. Paul about Tozal:

Tozal - Vitamins for Macular Degeneration.

Kind Regards,

Leslie Degner, RN, BSN

Weighing AREDS with long term health

First, thank you for providing this resource.

Over the past two years I have used it repeatedly to help me grow and understand my diagnosis and long term prognosis.

At the age of 38, I was diagnosed with dry macular degeneration in the my right eye.

Within a year, it was wet. I had three injections of Avastin, which helped, but three months later I was back getting another injection. That was a week ago.

While there, my Doctor confirmed what I had discovered a week prior, my other eye had developed a problem, rather obvious when using the Amsler grid.

As of today, it is dry, but it only took a year for the first eye to go from dry to wet, which scares the you know what out of me.

I am 40 years old. When the doctor looks in my eyes, last week he was quoted, "When I look at your eyes, I can't believe you're so young."

I talked to him about trying AREDS, but he thought that was not a good choice due to my age.

His concern is the high levels, he feels they border on toxicity, would cause greater negative long term health impacts than taking the AREDS would save. Other words, he felt I might save some eyesight for a while, but would end up with greater health issues before I normally would.

Can you help provide some clarity to long-term health impacts? AREDS study results on the benefit of taking once dry in one eye versus hose that did not take it?

Thank you,

Mike

REPLY

Hi Mike,

The issue at hand is how to best reduce your risk of converting from Dry to Wet AMD in your left eye.

The ingredients in TOZAL, a new prescription eye vitamin, has shown to reduce the risk of developing Wet AMD by at least 50%.

The nutrients in TOZAL are well below the toxic levels and no adverse events have been reported.

Since it is only available by prescription, your doctor will need will need to write a Rx for the vitamin. Additional information on this new supplement can be found at TozalRx.com


In addition to TOZAL, continue to monitor your Amsler grid and be sure to see your eye doctor every 3-6 months.

To your good health!

Dr. Edward Paul

Dr. Edward Paul

Vitamins for Macular Degeneration

by Marcy
(United States)

Best supplement for wet macular degeneration that does not have any fish oil in it or any artificial colors/dyes?

REPLY

Hi Marcy,

The results from the Age Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) "found that taking high levels of antioxidants and zinc can reduce the risk of developing advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD) by about 25 percent." NIH News Release Friday, October 12, 2001

This major clinical trial sponsored by the National Institute of Health began in September 1990 and the first results were published in a press release in 2001.

The study involved:

1. 4,757 participants between the ages of 55 and 80 years who were followed for 5 years

2. Those whose macular status ranged from no evidence of age related macular degeneration (AMD) in either eye to relatively severe disease with vision loss in one eye but good vision in the fellow eye (20/30 or better)

There are several vitamins for eyes that use the AREDS formula of:

500 milligrams of vitamin C;

400 international units of vitamin E;

15 milligrams of beta-carotene;

80 milligrams of zinc as zinc oxide; and

two milligrams of copper as cupric oxide

The company that we buy our eye vitamins from is Natural Eye Care. They do carry an AREDS formula called VitEyes. I believe it is free of artificial colors and dyes since they provide many all natural and whole food vitamins as well. Here is a link to that product:

VitEyes

Kind Regards,

Leslie Degner, RN, BSN

Lutein Side Effects

by Noziyah
(Malaysia)

I was prescribed this , 19 drops to be diluted in water and to be taken once a day.

This is my first time of taking this drops. I had a headache about half an hour later and felt drowsy.

Could this experience be the side effect of taking the lutein drops?

REPLY

Dear Noziyah,

Thanks for your question. According to the www.clinicaltrials.gov website regarding side effects of lutein,

"lutein and zeaxanthin supplements are considered to be safe with possible minor side effects, such as headaches and difficulty in swallowing the tablets."

Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science ISSN 0146-0404 CODEN IOVSDA Source / Source2006, vol. 47, no12, pp. 5227-5233 7 page(s) (article) (35 ref.)

I think everyone can respond to medications and to supplements differently. Drowsiness is not a reported side effect of lutein, but I think it is possible that your body perhaps responded that way.

Often, as the body adjusts to new supplements these side effects usually diminish.

Kind Regards,

Leslie Degner, RN, BSN