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Scots Get Vitamin to Fight Blindness
ALAN MacDERMID Newsquest Media Group
Posted Nov 26, 2009
NEW supplement carrying an anti-oxidant that staves off
blindness has been launched in Scotland.
The multi-vitamin will tackle a steep decline in the average
consumption of lutein, which has fallen by half since the Second
World War.
According to leading ophthalmologist Professor Ian Grierson,
wartime rationing provided two-thirds of the required level of
lutein compared to the one-third provided by today's diets.
He was speaking at the launch in Scotland of the new supplement
containing the ingredient, together with omega-3 and vitamins that
slow the progress of macular degeneration.
Age-related macular degeneration, AMD, is thought to affect about
63,000 Scots, leading to a large blind spot in the centre of the
eye. Sufferers find it increasingly difficult to read, eat or
recognise people and are at risk of falling down stairs.
AMD is the leading cause of blindness in the developed world and
affects the macula, an area at the back of the eye . It happens when
the cells that scavenge the area fall down on the job and a lot of
debris builds up - known as "dry" AMD, the most common form.
This can progress to "wet" AMD, when blood vessels start growing
out of control and leaking. This is rarer but much more rapid and
serious. Risk factors include poor diet, smoking, obesity, high
blood pressure and excessive exposure to short-wave light and
advancing age. Women and Caucasians are also more vulnerable, and a
family history is also a risk factor.
Research has already shown that supplements containing vitamins C
and E, and also zinc, can slow the progress from dry to wet, and a
number of products containing these have been marketed.
A more recent study has shown protective effects from lutein and
zeaxanthin, which as carotenoids help to provide a filter in front
of the macula to protect it against light damage .
The new additives also act as anti-oxidants, scavenging the free
radicals that accumulate around the macula in AMD.
All have been included in a new vitamin supplement, Ocuvit
Complete, launched by the optical company Bausch and Lomb.
Mr Grierson said: "The recommended daily intake of lutein for
normal health is 6mg, and during the war the average intake was 4mg.
Powdered egg was a good source. Now it is down to 2mg."
Mr Grierson said that a diet rich in oily fish, fruit and
vegetables like carrots and peppers could make a difference - but he
takes supplements too.
He said: "I am all in favour of a good diet but the reality is we
don't have a good diet nowadays " "There are certainly a lot of
people out there who would benefit from the supplements. They cost
GBP15 a month, which is cheap if they are doing you some good, but
it is still a hole in the budget and you have to weigh it up.
"If you are 30 and have a good diet the answer is probably no.
"But if you are 40-50, have a lousy diet, a relative with AMD, or
one or two other risk factors, then it would be well worth thinking
about."
Date: Nov 26, 2009
© 2009 The Herald. via ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved
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