Discover how lutein, zeaxanthin, and DHA can protect your aging eyes and brain from damage due to blue light and oxidative stress.
Highlights
🧠 Eye and Brain Connection: Eye exams reveal insights into brain health.
🥦 Dietary Carotenoids: Lutein and zeaxanthin from vegetables are crucial for eye health.
📱 Blue Light Exposure: Increased screen time damages the macula, impacting vision and brain function.
⚖️ Supplementation Importance: Many diets lack sufficient lutein and DHA; supplementation is vital.
🧬 Neuroprotective Benefits: Lutein acts as a neuroprotectant, reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s.
🔍 Cognition Improvement: Higher lutein levels correlate with better cognitive function in all ages.
💪 DHA and Brain Health: DHA is essential for maintaining brain structure and function.
Key Insights
🧠 The Retina as the Brain: The retina serves as an accessible window to brain health, with eye exams indicating potential neurodegeneration risks. Understanding this connection can lead to earlier interventions for brain health.
🥦 Need for Carotenoids: The decline in lutein and zeaxanthin levels in our diets due to farming practices makes supplementation essential for maintaining macular health and protecting against age-related conditions.
📱 Impact of Digital Screens: Our constant exposure to blue light from screens contributes to eye fatigue and potential long-term damage to both the eyes and brain. Awareness and protection against this exposure are crucial for health.
⚖️ Role of Supplements: Given the insufficient dietary intake of lutein and DHA, supplements can help achieve optimal levels necessary for cognitive and visual health, especially as we age.
🧬 Neuroprotective Role of Lutein: Lutein’s ability to neutralize oxidative stress and inflammation positions it as a critical nutrient in preventing neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s.
🔍 Cognitive Function Correlation: Research indicates a direct relationship between higher lutein levels in the eye and improved cognitive performance, emphasizing the need for adequate intake.
💪 DHA’s Vital Function: DHA not only supports cognitive function but also protects against oxidative damage in the brain, reinforcing its role in overall neural health and longevity.
Multiple autopsy studies have described deficits of DHA-containing phospholipids in brain tissue from people with Alzheimer's, which correlates with markers of the disease (reviewed in Heath and Wood, 2021). In samples from dementia with Lewy body cases, low levels of DHA-containing phospholipids were associated with lower soluble Aβ42, higher phosphorylated α-synuclein, and diminished synaptic proteins (Chong et al., 2023).
https://www.alzforum.org/therapeutics/docosahexaenoic-acid-dha