In a syndicated column appearing in Canada's Niagara Falls Review (4/27), W. Gifford-Jones, MD, wrote that eggs "contain lutein and zeaxanthin, known as carotenoids, that help to decrease the risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD)," a disease that "affects central vision and is the leading cause of blindness for people over 65 years of age." According to research done by Dr. John Landrum, of Florida International University, who "is a world authority on macular pigments," patients "with the highest intakes of lutein and zeaxanthin had 43 percent less chance of developing" AMD. In addition, a "study from the National Institute of Health...found that those with the lowest level of carotenoids had the highest risk of AMD." Recent data from the National Cancer Institute "show the overall decline of lutein intake. This decrease in dietary lutein was particularly striking in those groups at risk of macular degeneration." Scientists "believe that lutein and zeaxanthin protect the macula by absorbing harmful blue light rays from the sun's rays," and may "act as antioxidants that neutralize free radicals, the end products of metabolism that are believed to cause aging."
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University of Maryland researchers suggest that carotenoids, particularly lycopene may protect the eye against oxidative damage and play a critical role in visual function. The identification of lycopene and a diverse range of dietary carotenoids in ocular tissues suggest that these carotenoids, as well as other nutrients found in tomato-based foods, may work in concert with lutein and zeaxanthin to provide protection against age related macular degeneration and other visual disorders.
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