Do Your Eyes Need Vitamin D?

The importance of Vitamin D to our overall health seems to be a regular news story now.  Instead of telling us to cover up the second we go outside, many are now recommending we allow our skin to get just a few minutes of unprotected sunlight for the health benefits of the Vitamin D absorption.  Many doctors are recommending increased Vitamin D supplements for everyone from children through seniors to help ward off depression and to build immune systems.

So, I wondered.  Does Vitamin D have added health benefits for our eyes? We all know to eat carrots and orange foods for the beta carotene our eyes need. But, does a little old fashioned sunshine have anything to do with our eye health?

According to some research I read on the web, it most certainly does.

One study I found showed that a vitamin D3 supplement given to mice for 6 weeks started to improve their vision and reduce their retinal inflammation. The vitamin also seemed to reduce the amount of aging that occurred in their eyes.

Vitamin D3 seems to also help prevent age-related macular degeneration (AMD) which is the most common culprit behind blindness in elderly people.

The Vitamin D affects the amount of something called: amyloid beta in the eyes. It’s the accumlation of this substance that seems to accelerate aging everywhere in your body — including the eyes. In fact, according to some studies, researchers correlate that the reason why Vitamin D helps ward against age-related macular degeneration is the same reason why Vitamin D may help prevent diseases that are more common with aging –such as Alzheimer’s and heart disease.

Researchers do agree that safe sun exposure is the best way to get your daily dose of Vitamin D. But, if you aren’t able to get outside in the sun regularly (in some parts of the world daily sun exposure is no where close to a realistic expectation), then you can take a Vitamin D3 supplement.

Another thing many doctors are doing now is actually testing people’s levels of Vitamin D3. I recently had mine tested and found out that I was just barely at an acceptable level even though I had been supplementing for quite some time. A simple blood test is a sure fire way to make sure you know how much extra you need.

Ask your closest America’s Best optometrist if he or she has any other nutritional recommendations for protecting your eye health.

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