Cataract Risk: Role of Vitamins & Antioxidants

Eye Care & Surgery Center NJ Bladeless LASIK Laser Cataract Surgeon Blog

Monday, September 29, 2014

Cataract Risk: Role of Vitamins & Antioxidants

Your risk of developing cataracts may actually be impacted by vitamin and antioxidant consumption. It may be possible that there is an association between your risk of cataracts and your dietary intake of certain vitamins and antioxidants according to researchers reporting their results in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Generally, studies have been inconsistent regarding the association between blood antioxidants or vitamins and risk of age-related cataract. By performing a meta analysis of 13 different studies researchers found the  lower the  level of vitamin E, α-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin, the  greater the  risk of age-related cataract in Asian populations but not in Western populations, whereas β-Carotene, lycopene, and β-cryptoxanthin  had no significant association with risk of cataract. While these results look somewhat interesting, the question remains whether increasing intake through dietary supplements actually have any role in decreasing the risk of cataract formation.

If you or someone you know would like to know more about the role of vitamins and antioxidants in cataract risk and development, please feel free to call The Eye Care & Surgery Center at 908-789-8999, visit The Eye Care & Surgery Center or facebook.com/eyecareandsurgerycenter to schedule an appointment.

With locations at 592 Springfield Avenue, Westfield, New Jersey 07090, 10 Mountain Boulevard, Warren, New Jersey 07059 and 517 Route One South, Suite 1100, Iselin, New Jersey 08830, The Eye Care & Surgery Center is a leading NJ eye care practice conveniently located for patients from throughout central and northern New Jersey.