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What Should the Best Eye Vitamins for Blurry Vision Symptoms Have?

Written by MacuHealth
Reviewed by Jim Stringham, Ph.D.

best eye vitamins for blurry vision
What should the best eye vitamins for blurry vision have?

Humans are living longer. Medical science continues to make advancements to repair our joints, skin and other vital organs. But our eyes – which give us vision, our most treasured sense – continue to deteriorate as we age. This causes unclear vision and dark spots across our line of sight. As a result, some doctors may recommend risky invasive surgeries or injections. But this solution could make symptoms worse, not better.

There are also many eye care professionals who offer supplements to help patients manage their eye disease symptoms, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD). But how can you tell which supplements will deliver a real solution? We’ll explore what causes our eyesight to deteriorate and what you should look for when searching for the best eye vitamins for blurry vision related to AMD and visual health.

How Can Supplements Help Vision?

There’s a good chance that if you’ve been researching the best eye vitamins for blurry vision related to AMD, you’ve heard of the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) and its follow-up AREDS2. The National Eye Institute (NEI) conducted both of these studies. Researchers worked with thousands of participants to see if nutritional supplements could slow down or prevent AMD and cataracts. These are two diseases that can alter vision. These supplements feature antioxidants known as carotenoids, nutrients that make the macular pigment. 

The study included the following results:

  • Taking AREDS reduces the risk of progression from intermediate to advanced AMD by about 25 percent, with an additional 10 percent risk reduction with the addition of the carotenoids Lutein and Zeaxanthin (AREDS2).
  • Also, current and former smokers should take the AREDS2 formula and avoid the AREDS formula with beta-carotene, as it increases lung cancer risk.

Additionally, Lutein and Zeaxanthin, the two primary carotenoids in AREDS2 formulas, had “an incremental increase in benefit,” according to the NEI. Further Level 1 studies conducted show that by including Meso-Zeaxanthin, the third carotenoid that makes up the macular pigment, AMD symptoms can be managed or prevented.

What Should You Look For?

After the release of the AREDS and AREDS2 study results, countless supplements promising to reduce the risk of AMD flooded the market. But what should you look for when researching the best eye vitamins for blurry vision related to AMD? Here are four items to check for to help you decide.

All-Natural Ingredients

If the eyes are sensitive organs, then they can become irritated and damaged when exposed to synthetic ingredients. Be sure to protect them by checking the supplement’s label to ensure that what’s inside the bottle is all-natural.

Bioavailability

Bioavailability is the amount of active ingredients absorbed into the body’s circulation. Basically, it works like this: The higher the absorption rate, then the more nutrients go to where you need them. However, most vitamins degrade over time because they become exposed to light, oxygen and moisture. Additionally, researchers have proved that not all eye supplements offer the amount of ingredients they say.

“We confirm that a number of commercially available carotenoid food supplements do not achieve their label claim,” explained Dr. David Phelan, Professor John Nolan and Dr. Alfonso Prado-Cabrero in their study on supplements in the journal Nutrients.1

In order to check the bioavailability, take a look at the label. See if the supplement is in tablet or capsule form. Studies show that the best vitamins are oil-based capsules. Generally, capsules are more stable and less likely to degrade than tablets.

Meso-Zeaxanthin

Meso-Zeaxanthin is the most powerful carotenoid. Studies show2 that when it’s combined with Lutein and Zeaxanthin, these three nutrients become even more effective than when they’re on their own. Specifically, these ingredients are vital in rebuilding the macular pigment, filtering out harmful blue light, fighting inflammation and reducing oxidative stress in the eyes and brain. To clarify, Meso-Zeaxanthin is an essential ingredient in the best eye vitamins for blurry vision and visual health related to AMD symptoms.

Peer-reviewed

The supplement industry is unregulated. This allows companies to make false claims about their products and put inactive ingredients into their formulations. For consumers, the most effective way to verify a company’s claims is to see if the supplement has been through the peer-review process. You can trust a study’s results if it’s been published in a peer-reviewed journal. This form of quality control weeds out poorly researched work. It also gives eye care professionals and patients the confidence to trust a supplement’s claims.

What Are the Best Eye Vitamins for Blurry Vision Symptoms?

Of the best eye vitamins for vision on the market, MacuHealth was the first eye supplement to feature Meso-Zeaxanthin as an ingredient. Many companies now include this vital nutrient in their products. But over 40 peer-reviewed studies back up what MacuHealth’s all-natural Triple Carotenoid Formula can do to improve someone’s sight.

In terms of bioavailability, a study published in 2020,3 the current formulation of MacuHealth yielded a significantly higher response in the blood and retina when compared to standard macular carotenoid formulations. Additionally, another study showed that of the 46 supplements tested, 64% of them didn’t contain the amount of carotenoids promised on their label.1

To sum up, if you want to improve your visual health and performance, MacuHealth has everything you’re looking for.

References

  1.  Phelan, D., Prado-Cabrero, A., & Nolan, J. M. (2017). Stability of Commercially Available Macular Carotenoid Supplements in Oil and Powder Formulations. Nutrients9(10), 1133. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9101133

  2. Akuffo, K. O., Beatty, S., Stack, J., Dennison, J., O’Regan, S., Meagher, K. A., Peto, T., & Nolan, J. (2014). Central Retinal Enrichment Supplementation Trials (CREST): design and methodology of the CREST randomized controlled trials. Ophthalmic epidemiology, 21(2), 111–123. https://doi.org/10.3109/09286586.2014.888085

  3. Green-Gomez M, Prado-Cabrero A, Moran R, et al. The Impact of Formulation on Lutein, Zeaxanthin, and meso-Zeaxanthin Bioavailability: A Randomised Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Study. Antioxidants (Basel). 2020;9(8):767. Published 2020 Aug 18. doi:10.3390/antiox9080767. 2.