By Dennis Gierhart, PhD

February was Low Vision Awareness Month, and according to the National Eye Institute, more than two million Americans over age 50 suffer significant vision loss from Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD). The disease is caused by the breakdown of the macula, the part of your eye that is responsible for central and detailed vision. While the disease can cause irreversible blindness, you can take steps to address the disease’s major risk factors.

Making sure your eyes are getting the nutrients they need is one of the most important ways to maintain your vision. There are two critical nutrients your eyes need to support a healthy macula: zeaxanthin (zee-uh-zan\’-thin) and lutein. While Lutein is fairly common in the diet, zeaxanthin is extremely scarce – to put it in perspective, you would need to eat 20 ears of corn daily to get the amount of zeaxanthin associated with healthy vision. Research shows, however, that supplements high in zeaxanthin can help bridge the nutrition gap and improve vision quality. Adding zeaxanthin to the diet is scientifically proven to not only help people take a proactive approach to AMD but also reduce glare, increase contrast, enhance color saturation, improve light sensitivity and improve responsiveness to changes in levels of light.

Keeping an eye on your ocular health is important, so please consider taking a moment each February to check in with your local optometrist to learn more about preserving your vision quality.

– Dr. Gierhart is the co-founder and CEO of ZeaVision, which produces EyePromise nutraceuticals. With more than 20 years of research, Dr. Gierhart pioneered the use of zeaxanthin to promote eye health. Since that time he has maintained a dedication to product quality by using only the highest-quality, natural ingredients, leading ZeaVision to become one of the leading companies in ocular nutrition. With more than 40-million doses consumed the EyePromise line of patented nutraceuticals contain the highest levels of dietary zeaxanthin available and all are backed by the unconditional 60-day, money-back guarantee. Learn more at eyepromise.com.