Complete Nutrition and Eye Health: Throw Away Those Lutein Supplements

Of our five senses, eyesight is surely the most precious and life-enriching. Losing the ability to read or just view a sunset would be devastating.

The aging process itself can be damaging to eyesight. Without adequate intake of antioxidants, free radical attacks can cause an ailment called age-related macular degeneration. Another drawback of aging is the slowing of "dark adaptation," meaning how quickly eyes can adjust from light to dark. Chinese scientists found that wolfberries significantly improved dark adaptation in test subjects who consumed 50 grams of wolfberries daily for thirty-four days.¹

Pick up any commercial multivitamin bottle and you’ll see lutein prominently mentioned for eye health. But of the eye preserving caroteinoids (vitamin A components), research has shown that zeaxanthin has far stronger biological activity. A chart in Discovery of the Ultimate Superfood shows that the highest regular food source for zeaxanthin is egg yolk, measuring 1,253 mcg per 100 grams. But there is a source that makes egg yolks a very distant second! One hundred grams of dried Ningxia wolfberries contain 27,800 mcg of zeaxanthin!²

Recent research indicates that foods rich in lutein and zeaxanthin can lower risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the most common cause of blindness.

NingXia Red is also brimming with eye-supporting polyphenols (like ellagic acid) and minerals like zinc and magnesium. Vitamin C is particularly beneficial for ocular health, along with the amino acid taurine—also found in NingXia Red.

Macular Degeneration and Diabetes:
The Glycemic Impact of the Ningxia Wolfberry
Marc Schreuder at the 2005 Young Living National Convention
Sources: Power Learning Library - Volume II or Training CD #74
   28 min

• 1. Li Xueru, et al., "Clinical Experiment on Lycium," Bulletin on Achievements in Scientific and Technological Research. Serial 84, No. 4, 1988.
• 2. Young, Discovery of the Ultimate Superfood. 122.

This text excerpted from "The NingXia Red Advantage: Seven Pillars of Health", Young Living Magazine, Oct-Dec 2005. Reprinted with permission of Young Living Essential Oils, LC, Lehi, UT 84043 U.S.A. No other reprinting without the express written permission of Young Living Essential Oils, LC is allowed. Young Living is not responsible for the content posted on this Web site.