Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
By now, we have all heard about the damaging effects of blue light when it comes to more than just our vision. But what exactly are the effect to, not only adults, but children and teenagers?
Berries are loaded with powerful antioxidants that have been shown to be helpful for vision and overall eye health, especially bilberries.
Invite Health Podcast, Episode hosted by Jerry Hickey. Ph
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Today, I want to focus on eye health and what you can be doing to make sure that you’re getting adequate exposure to the nutrients to really help support your eyes the best that you possibly can in this new digital world that everyone lives in. We know that our exposure to things like blue light has gone up exponentially over the past two decades and we have to recognize the potential harmful impact of that blue light, how it can potentially be aging our eyes a bit faster. I want to talk about different things that we can make sure that we’re doing to try to offset or mitigate that.
We have all heard that having foods that are high in carotenoids is very beneficial. Things like carrots are packed with wonderful amounts of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that our eye requires. But it goes well beyond just trying to load your diet up with carrots. We have to make sure that we are getting that comprehensive approach to really complete eye nutrients. When we think about the spectrum, it’s not just carotenoids.
How Too Much Screen Time Impacts Your Eyes – Invite Health Podcast, Episode 67. Listen Now >>
There are also minerals that are required. We can look at zinc. Many times people are not aware of the role that zinc plays when it comes to maintaining the health of our eyes and for our vision throughout our lives. We know zinc deficiency is something that is increasing and common with magnesium deficiencies in this country. For many people, you’re not getting a really comprehensive exposure to both magnesium, as well as to zinc.
What is blue light and why is it harmful?
Most people are continuously looking at their phones throughout the day. Maybe you sit in front of a computer all day. Maybe you’re working from home, so you’re on your computer more than you maybe would be. Perhaps you’re doing your schooling all online now, so there’s a lot of different reasons as to why our exposure to blue light is just much greater than it used to be.
Blue rays that we are exposed to can penetrate into the retina. When this happens, this can really induce what is known as this phytochemical stress that can damage the retinal cells. Indirectly, this can lead to apoptosis, or a self-destructive ability of those retinal cells. Once that happens, that’s a big issue.
Vitamin C is really so important when it comes to the health of your retinal cells, to be able to fend off that oxidative stress. Making sure we are getting adequate amounts of Vitamin C in our dietary intake, as well as supplementation, is really essential.
We know that blue light is harmful. We can look at UV radiation. We know that from the sun, we are getting about 25% blue light. To contrast that, when we look at our computer screens or any of the things that are powered through LED, this can go upwards to 35% in terms of that retina-threatening blue light that is being emitted from those screens. This is why we have to take this seriously and recognize that if our diet is not high enough in the powerful carotenoids and Vitamin C, that we’re going to have to figure out a way to incorporate them in.
Bilberry and Cassis Berry Support Eye Health, Including Night Vision – Invite Health Podcast, Episode 95. Listen Now >>
Supplementing with a Multivitamin
We have to make sure that we have this comprehensive exposure to all of the appropriate nutrients. This is why we look at just the basics of supplementing with a multivitamin, especially if we can find a multivitamin that includes enhanced eye support.
If you look at our Core Multivitamin, the Men’s Multivitamin, the Women’s Multivitamin, and the Performance Multivitamins, they have a comprehensive eye health nutrient added right in. It’s not just a complete and wonderful multivitamin, multimineral formulation, it also is enhanced with a complete eye health nutrient. This is a wonderful way just to cover the bases.
To learn more about how InVite® Health multivitamins and other nutrients can help support your eye health, be sure to tune into the full podcast episode.
On today’s episode, Jerry Hickey, Ph discusses the importance of Vitamin A for immune health and healthy vision.
We have all heard about the importance of getting adequate fruits and vegetables, but there are certain berries that can really provide a significant amount of health support. One berry in particular that is oftentimes overlooked is the bilberry.
Invite Health Podcast, Episode hosted by Jerry Hickey. Ph
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In previous episodes, I have discussed Vitamin C and its benefit in the support of numerous factors, including brain and heart health. On today’s episode, we are going to be discussing Vitamin C and its benefit for vision health and the common cold. Let’s talk science.
Vitamin C And Cataracts
Cataracts are very common. This is a clouding-over of the lens of the eye. The lens of your eye focuses light, which normally produces a very sharp, clear image on your retina. With age, the lens of your eye loses its flexibility and thickens. There is also a large amount of oxidative damage occurring from blue light, sunshine, cigarette smoke and pollution. This damages the lens of your eye and contributes to cataracts.
Your eyes super-concentrate Vitamin C. In fact, in the fluids of the eye, the concentration of Vitamin C is 15-20 times higher than in your blood plasma. So, a drop in the level of Vitamin C in the eye, may cause an increase in the severity of cataract production and a higher risk of developing cataracts. Here are some more stats:
A meta-analysis of existing, high-quality studies was performed to discuss the link between Vitamin C and cataracts. Researchers actually looked at the blood plasma levels and found that higher plasma levels of Vitamin C are strongly connected with a reduced risk of developing cataracts. This is important, but these are studies that are actually looking at blood levels – the plasma concentration of specific nutrients – and not just a questionnaire about nutrition or dietary intake.
Age-Related Macular Degeneration
This is the leading cause of blindness in aging people. In the back of the eye is the coroid body that contain blood vessels, which feeds and nourishes your retina. There is a protective substance in front of the retina called your macular tissue. It kind of works like a catchers mitt, keeping harmful things away from your retina. With age, nutrients that build up your macular tissue are not absorbed well. The macular tissue starts to thin and is not as robust. Now, factors like blue light are easily penetrating into the back of the eye.
When you have enough nutrients in your blood serum like Vitamin C, Zinc and Lutein, they can help build a robust, thick filter (macular tissue) that helps to filter out these harmful substances, like blue light.
But, where do you get exposed to blue light? There are a few common places that you may even be looking at right now – your computer screen, cell phone, high-definition TVs, and video games. A population-based cohort study from the Netherlands looked at people 55 years old and older and found that the participants that had a lot of Vitamin C in their diet (but also zinc, beta-carotene and vitamin E) it lead to a reduced risk of developing age-related macular degeneration.
Vitamin C and The Common Cold
In a previous episode, we discussed Vitamin C for the immune system and how important immune cells that get to the site of an infection require Vitamin C for activation. These immune cells also require Vitamin C to kill the infection. If you are lacking Vitamin C, not enough of these cells are functioning at an adequate enough level to protect you from a virus.
Researchers have found, in very active people, Vitamin C (when taken prophylactically, or before you get a cold) that it can help reduce the symptoms and the duration. This includes runners, body builders, soldiers, skiers, and dancers or for those who live in harsher and colder environments. Vitamin C, when taken prophylactically at about 250mg to 1000mg per day was also found to reduce the incidence of getting a cold by 50%. The same was found in the general population. Studies have shown that daily supplementation of Vitamin C, means fewer colds, shorter duration, and milder symptoms for the general population.
Questions about Vitamin C? Do you currently take a Vitamin C supplement and have seen a benefit or difference in your incidences of getting sick? Leave us a comment below to join the discussion!
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