Lutein and Healthy Vision

Filed in archive Morsels of Info on January 16, 2007

From Dr. Weil:

Supplement for Healthy Vision

If you or someone you know is getting on in years, you may want to consider supplementing your diet with lutein. Lutein and another carotenoid, zeaxanthin, form the yellow pigment of the retina and absorb blue light, a potentially harmful component of sunlight.

There is very good evidence that the lutein in food helps protect against cataracts and macular degeneration, which are common, age-related eye disorders. It is one of the yellow and orange pigments found in many fruits and vegetables, including mangoes, sweet potatoes, watermelon, carrots, squash, tomatoes and dark, leafy greens (such as kale, collards and bok choy). The best thing you can do to prevent eye disorders is to make sure that your diet contains plenty of lutein-rich fruits and vegetables. To get zeaxanthin, orange bell peppers, oranges and Honeydew melon are good additions to the foods listed above.

Some recipes you can try to get that lutein in:

Mango Mousse from RecipeZaar
Carrot Burfi from Suma's Veggie Platter
Curried Butternut Squash Soup from Mrs. Vin de Table
Spinach and Kale Turnovers from helios at Tales from a Veggie Kitchen
Lots of recipes to try, from Myrite and Nogah of A Tasty Life
Kirsten's Citrus-Spice Braised Short Ribs

Enjoy and keep your eyes healthy!