Vitalux

Breaking news! Vitalux ADVANCED has launched, and is available only through optometry offices during early 2014.

Results of a research study called AREDS 2 were released this past May. AREDS is an acronym for Age-Related Eye Disease Study and data has been collected from 4000 participants over 10 years by the US Eye Institute. We’ve summarized the important facts for you below:

There are two types of risk factors for AMD: “Non-modifiable” (factors that aren’t under our control) and “Modifiable” (factors we can change). Non-modifiable risk factors include: age, family history, gender (female), light eye colour, and ethnicity (Caucasian). The modifiable risk factors are: smoking, sun-exposure, diet (high in fat, low in antioxidants), obesity, exercise, hypertension, high cholesterol, and cardiovascular disease.

Poor nutrition was in the top 10 risk factors. Supplementation is recommended if nutrition is lacking.

The original AREDS formulation included: 500mg of Vitamin C, 400 IU of Vitamin E, 15mg of betacarotene, 80mg of Zinc, and 2mg of Copper.

The original study showed that a combination of high dose antioxidant vitamins and zinc produced a 25% reduction in risk for developing advanced AMD over 6 years.

The second AREDS study (AREDS 2) added 10 mg lutein and 2 mg zeaxanthin, and removed beta carotene due to risk of lung cancer in smokers. The lutein and zeaxanthin may help because they accumulate in the macula and respond to oxidative stress that can cause photoreceptor death. This provides protection from dry AMD changing into wet AMD (which is the bleeding and scarring within the macula that causes severe vision loss). Omega 3 was also evaluated during the AREDs 2 study, but despite its well known benefits for heart disease and dry eye, it did not show significant risk reduction in advanced AMD, and was removed from the formulation.

With so many vitamin supplements in the market, it is important to know a person’s health status and eye condition before deciding whether a change in diet and lifestyle is enough or if supplementation is needed Dr. Dianna Leong, Dr. Anh Bui and Dr. Elizabeth Yan can recommend what is right for you. Vitalux Advanced has a good safety profile, is easy to take (one capsule twice a day), and is very reasonably priced. Foresight Eyecare has it in stock now. If you have been diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration or know someone that has this condition, please consult the eye doctor to learn if the new Vitalux Advanced is the right choice.