Lutein Supplement 5 mg 10 mg and 20 mg comparison, benefit of natural supplementation and combination with other nutritional products

Most of the lutein found in supplements comes from Marigold flowers which have a high lutein content. For instance, a common marigold extract is 5 percent lutein. Therefore, 100 mg of this marigold extract will provide 5 mg of lutein.

What is the right dosage of lutein supplements for age related macular degeneration of to prevent eye damage?
Scientists are still researching the ideal dosage of to take for long term eye health. Lutein ingestion through diet in most people is less than 3 mg a day. Most lutein supplements come in 10 or 20 mg. If you purchase a 10 mg lutein supplement, you may use it three or four times a week with breakfast. If you purchase a 20 mg lutein supplement, you only need to take it twice a week.

Lutein supplement use and pigment density in the retina
The use of a zeaxanthin and lutein supplement leads to an increase in macular pigment optical density and helps with eyesight and vision. In one study three subjects consumed 30 mg of lutein and 2.7 mg of zeaxanthin supplement each day for 120 days. At the two most central loci, macular pigment optical density significantly increased in all three subjects with the zeaxanthin and lutein supplement use.

Source of lutein supplement
Most of the commercially available lutein supplements are derived from the marigold plant. Manufacturing of lutein varies between different companies.

Lutein dosage in a supplement
The majority of the lutein supplements on the market provide 10 mg or 20 mg of lutein. For the majority of people, 10 mg of lutein supplement is plenty to take daily or every other day. If you purchase a 20 mg lutein supplement, you can take it every other day or every third day.
   There are hundreds of brand name lutein supplement products on the market that combine lutein with zeaxanthin, bilberry, vitamins, and a host of other herbs and nutrients. A good lutein supplement which a great combination of herbs and nutrient is Eyesight Rx.
   Common lutein supplement brand names for improving vision include Ocuvite supplement,

Lutein supplement research - help for vision?
A randomised controlled trial investigating the effect of lutein and antioxidant dietary supplementation on visual function in healthy eyes.
Clin Nutr. 2008. Bartlett HE. Ophthalmic Research Group, School of Life and Health Sciences, Aston University, Aston Triangle, Birmingham, UK.
It has been suggested that retinal lutein may improve visual acuity for images that are illuminated by white light. Our aim was to determine the effect of a lutein supplement and antioxidant dietary supplement on visual function. A prospective, 9- and 18-month, double-masked randomised controlled trial. For the 9-month trial, 46 healthy participants were randomised (using a random number generator) to placebo (n=25) or active (n=21) groups. Twenty-nine of these subjects went on to complete 18 months of supplementation, 15 from the placebo group, and 14 from the active group. The active group supplemented daily with 6 mg lutein combined with vitamins and minerals. Outcome measures were distance and near visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, and photostress recovery time. There were no statistically significant differences between groups for any of the outcome measures over 9 or 18 months. There was no evidence of effect of 9 or 18 months of daily supplementation with a lutein-based nutritional supplement on visual function in this group of people with healthy eyes.
   Comments: It is possible that the lutein dosage was too high. In our experience, when the dosage of lutein is too high, vision becomes worse. This may be due to an imbalance of lutein with other carotenoids in the retina, or other factors. It is possible that a daily dose of 1 or 2 mg of lutein supplements may have led to better vision, or perhaps taking the lutein supplement only 2 or 3 days a week.

A 12-week lutein supplementation improves visual function in Chinese people with long-term computer display light exposure.
Br J Nutr. 2009. Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Peking University, 38 Xueyuan Road, Beijing, P. R. China.
We aimed to examine the effect of different doses of lutein supplementation on visual function in subjects with long-term computer display light exposure. Thirty-seven healthy subjects with long-term computer display light exposure ranging in age from 22 to 30 years were randomly assigned to one of three groups: Group L6 (6 mg lutein/d, n 12); Group L12 (12 mg lutein/d); and Group Placebo (maltodextrin placebo). Levels of serum lutein and visual performance indices such as visual acuity, contrast sensitivity and glare sensitivity were measured at weeks 0 and 12. After 12-week lutein supplementation, serum lutein concentrations of Groups L6 and L12 increased from 0.356 to 0.607 micromol/l, and from 0.328 to 0.733 micromol/l, respectively. No statistical changes from baseline were observed in uncorrected visual acuity and best-spectacle corrected visual acuity, whereas there was a trend toward increase in visual acuity in Group L12. Contrast sensitivity in Groups L6 and L12 increased with supplementation, and statistical significance was reached at most visual angles of Group L12. No significant change was observed in glare sensitivity over time. Visual function in healthy subjects who received the lutein supplement improved, especially in contrast sensitivity, suggesting that a higher intake of lutein may have beneficial effects on the visual performance.

Traditional medical opinion
At the present time, there is insufficient evidence in the literature to recommend routine nutritional supplementation in healthy adults for primary prevention of AMD. However, patients with intermediate risk of age related macular degeneration or advanced AMD in one eye should consider taking AREDS-type supplements such as vitamins C, E, beta-carotene, and zinc with copper. Observational studies have also suggested benefit from increased dietary intake of macular xanthophylls and omega-3 fatty acids. These are currently being evaluated prospectively in a randomized controlled clinical trial, the AREDS2.