Any vitamin C that you get from food or supplements can help your lenses in a big way. There s another reason to take vitamin C, however. It s an antioxidant, and you need its power because the eyes are prime sites of what are called oxidative processes. Any time we burn energy, it s a metabolic process that involves oxygen molecules. The eyes, says Dr. Abel, are the most metabolically active parts of the body.
Research suggests that when it comes to vitamin C and cataract prevention, commitment is the key.
A study of 247 nurses at Tufts University in Boston showed that women who took vitamin C supplements for 10 years or more were much less likely to have signs of cataracts than those who never took the vitamin. If you have cataracts, you should take 3,000 to 5,000 milligrams of vitamin C in divided doses throughout the day, recommends Dr. Lamden. Scavengers for Better Vision Vitamin E and selenium are other antioxidants that have been associated with reduced risk of cataracts. Like vitamin C, they scavenge free radicals, the free-roaming, unstable molecules that wreak a lot of damage on cells. Because of their free radical scavenging abilities, vitamin E and selenium help prevent or clear up cloudiness in the lens.