Vitamin D Proves Critical to Eye Health
The leading cause of vision loss is macular degeneration and studies are showing that vitamin D plays a serious role in our eye health. The immune system, bone, cancer and inflammation are all affected by vitamin D, and now we can add vision loss to that list.
A study published in JAMA Ophthalmology claims that that vitamin D may be a critical nutrient in eye health, particularly in the prevention of age-related macular degeneration, and specifically among genetically susceptible women. In data compiled on 1,230 female participants, 54 to 74 years old, researchers found that those test subjects with early-stage age-related macular degeneration all showed below sufficient levels of vitamin D.
The research determined that vitamin D deficient women, who have a specific high-risk genotype, are nearly 7 times more likely to develop age-related macular degeneration than their counterparts with sufficient vitamin D levels and no high risk genotype.
While research cannot say exactly why vitamin D may play such a vital role, they think it may have to do with inflammation. The bottom line–this study supports vitamin D’s role in eye health.
The government RDA for people up to 70 years of age is 600 IU daily, and can be achieved with about twenty minutes of daily sunlight exposure, or with supplementation.
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