For example broccoli, spinach, peas, and some other types of vegetables, collard greens, mustard greens. And in this particular study it suggested that these vegetables might be beneficial and might be protective. Spurred by such results, the National Institutes of Health have launched a large follow-up study of macular degeneration, diet and supplements. It'll be a couple more years before the current study has any findings as to whether antioxidant pills make any difference. Yet some companies aren't waiting for definitive results, and they already market supplements aimed at people concerned about their vision.
Some products specifically promote their lutein and zeaxanthin content.
And that's just fine with ophthalmologist Steven Pratt, who gives speeches on behalf of a lutein supplement manufacturer. Unfortunately, only one percent of Americans consume a green, leafy vegetable which is high in lutein and zeaxanthin on a daily basis. So for those reasons I recommend a supplement which contains lutein and zeaxanthin. While lutein and zeaxanthin appear safe in low doses, some doctors still worry about patients gobbling too much of these and other antioxidant supplements. Without any question, they should not be overdosing on them because vitamin toxicity certainly could be a major problem, and especially without us knowing there's any efficacy to these vitamins, the last thing we want to do is create a systemic side effect.