Vitamin A For Eye Floaters
Floaters are a common vision problem that millions of people suffer from. They’re caused by loose strands of protein in the vitreous gel inside your eyes, but they can also be caused by other things.
Floaters are typically harmless, but they can be annoying and distracting if you notice them all the time. If you have eye floaters, there are several things you can do to improve your vision and reduce the number of floaters you see.
One of the most effective ways to reduce the number of floaters you see is taking vitamin A supplements. Vitamin A helps prevent inflammation in your eye, which can cause floaters. It also helps reduce swelling in your retina, which is another common cause of eye floaters.
If you have eye floaters, talk with your doctor about whether or not it’s worth taking vitamin A supplements to reduce their appearance.
Vitamin A For Eye Floaters
It is possible to provide support for a healthy vitreous humour with a combination of dietary considerations and supplements. The traditional Chinese medicine model of vision health holds that the liver meridian supports overall eye health and especially the health of the vitreous. One such formula is called “Xiao Yao San” or “Rambling Powder,” on which our Revision Formula is based. Milk thistle extract may also help reduce floaters.
Floaters are basically debris floating around in the vitreous gel. The body is slowly trying to break them down. The natural way to help this process along is to stimulate the flow of energy through the eyes. This occurs slowly because there is no blood flow in the vitreous, but the body does create phagocyte cells (part of the immune system) in the vitreous that have the potential of breaking down eye floaters over time. The revision formula may speed this along.
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ReVision Formula (wild-crafted herbal formula) 2 oz
| Essential ReVision Formula (wild-crafted herbal formula) 2 oz This wild-crafted herbal formula is based on a classic Liver patent formula used in Chinese medicine for overall eye and body health. |
| Essential Advanced Eye & Vision Support Formula (whole food) 60 vcaps Whole food, wild crafted herbal vegetarian formula with vision antioxidants, chemical- and preservative-free. |
| Essential Hyaluronic Acid (vegetarian) 100 mg 60 vcaps (P3155) Vitreous & joint support vegetarian/vegan formula. This formula is on. The replacement is Hyaluronic Acid 70mg 60caps. |
| Very Important Hyaluronic Acid (vegetarian) 100 mg 60 vcaps (P3155) Vitreous & joint support vegetarian/vegan formula. This formula is on. The replacement is Hyaluronic Acid 70mg 60caps. |
| Important Milk Thistle Seed 2 oz |
Conventional Treatment
There are no conventional treatments; patients are usually told they must learn to live with them.
Vitrectomy. In more serious eye floater conditions, a vitrectomy surgery may be recommended, although there is the risk of side effects.
Laser Surgery. Laser surgery is generally not very effective but is lower risk. A few doctors perform laser surgery for floaters, but it depends upon where the floaters are located, the quality of the vitreous gel and the type of floater. Most patients who may be candidates for laser surgery have experienced PVD (post vitreous detachment), which can push floaters toward the center of the eyes and away from the lens and retina. However this practice is still considered outside the scope of conventional ophthalmology practice.
Complementary Treatment
Maintaining a healthy diet can help prevent the onset of floaters, particularly with foods that contain vitamin C, silica, glucosamine sulfate, MSM, omega-3 fatty acids, and other nutrients listed below to help maintain the integrity of the retina, vitreous, and connective tissue.
Diet, exercise, and targeted supplementation can go a long way in strengthening the retina and supporting the vitreous. Research has determined that the body supplies certain nutrients in the eye such as hyaluronic acid that helps support the vitreous and connective tissue.1
Diet & Lifestyle Recommendations
- Eye health support recommendations for supporting healthy vision.
- Diet Add fresh juiced vegetables and fruits to your diet, best if organic. Our recipe for vitreous support includes some combination of these foods: garlic, beets, parsley, carrots, celery, apple, parsnip, raspberries (just a little fruit). Also see more information on juicing.
Recommended Nutrients
These are the nutrients that are most important in managing eye floaters. In general, by strengthening the health of the retina and vitreous, one reduces the risk of developing new floaters. These nutrients act together synergistically to help lessen the risk of floaters.
- Vitamin C. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that is essential for overall eye health. Since floaters are often the result of vitreous tears/detachments and/or clumping of the vitreous due to aging, vitamin C plays a role in blood and lymph circulation, waste elimination and supporting connective tissue. Vitamin C is found in high concentrations in the eyes and helps neutralize the effect of oxygenation in the ocular fluids.2,3,4
- Hyaluronic acid. Hyaluronic acid (hyaluronan) is a large molecule found in the vitreous gel which it is believed contributes to its gel-like quality5 and may also support related connective tissue in the retina.6 Elsewhere in the body it is found in the gel-like fluid that lubricates joints and it is a component of the tissue healing process. As we age, the amount of hyaluronan in the body decreases.
- Liver Tonic. We recommend the classic Chinese liver formula xiao yao san, which contains rehmannia, milk thistle and dandelion. In Chinese medicine, the Liver “opens to the eyes” and stimulates energy and blood circulation throughout the eyes and body.
Also may be helpful
- Antioxidants, including lutein and zeaxanthin, both of which are essential nutrients for keeping the retina healthy.
- Omege-3 fatty acid, which generally helps reduce the incidence and progression of retinal conditions.
- Homeopathic floater pellets
Footnotes
1. Stolyszewski, I., Niemcunowicz-Janica, A., Pepinski, W., Spolnicka, M. Zbiec, R., et al. (2007). Vitreous humour as a potential DNA source for postmortem human identification, Fola Histochem Cytobiol, 45(2):135-6.
2. Pirie, A. (1965). A light-catalysed reaction in the aqueous humor of the eye. Nature, 205:500–501.
3. Takano, S., Ishiwata, S., Nakazawa, M., Mizugaki, M., Tamai, M. (1997). Determination of ascorbic acid in human vitreous humor by high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection. Curr Eye Res, 16(6):589–594.
4. Eaton, J.W. (1991). Is the lens canned? Free Radic Biol Med, 11(2):207–213.
5. Brewton, R.G., Mayne, R. (1992). Mammalian vitreous humor contains networks of hyaluronan molecules: electron microscopic analysis using the hyaluronan-binding region (G1) of aggrecan and link protein. Exp Cell Res, Feb;198(2):237-49.
6. Jumper, J.M., Chang, D.F., Hoyt, C.S., Hall, J.L., Stern, R., et al. (1997). Aqueous hyaluronic acid concentration: comparison in pediatric and adult patients. Curr Eye Res, Oct;16(10):1069-71.
best eye vitamins for blurry vision
Your eyes need a crucial balance of vitamins to keep your vision at its best, particularly as you grow older. If you don’t get enough of some vitamins like A and B12, you may be more likely to develop eye diseases that can lead to vision loss and even blindness.
In many cases, eating a balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables is enough to keep your eyes healthy. But if you suffer from certain serious eye diseases, you may also need to add in vitamin supplements.
Here are 4 of the most important vitamins you need to keep your eyesight sharp.
1. Vitamin A
“We’ve all heard that carrots are good for the eyes. This is in part because they have high levels of vitamin A,” says Sunir J. Garg, MD, an eye doctor and professor of ophthalmology at Thomas Jefferson University.
Vitamin A is important both for the front of the eye, called the cornea, as well as for the back of the eye, called the retina, Garg says. When you lack vitamin A in your diet, this can harm the cornea and retina, causing damage to your vision.
This is because vitamin A helps produce the pigments that allow your retina to work properly. When you don’t have enough vitamin A, you may have trouble seeing in low light.
“Thankfully this type of vision loss can often be improved when vitamin A levels go back to normal,” Garg says. This means you likely don’t need a huge boost of vitamin A, as long as you are getting the recommended daily value, between 0.7mg and 0.9mg.
Here are some foods that are rich in Vitamin A:
2. B vitamins
B vitamins — like B6, B12, and folic acid — can help improve eye health by preventing age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a condition in which your retina deteriorates over time, causing blurry vision. This is because B vitamins reduce your blood levels of homocysteine, an acid that can affect the arteries of your retina and is an independent risk factor for AMD.
A large 2009 study found that women who had a vitamin B12 deficiency were twice as likely to have AMD than those with normal B12 levels. Additionally, women who took 50mg B6, 1mg B12, and 2.5mg folate supplements for two years were 35% to 40% less likely to develop AMD.
A deficiency in B vitamins can also lead to problems with the optic nerve, the tissue responsible for taking the images from the eye to the brain. In severe deficiency, it can cause reduced vision or blind spots.
Here’s how you can get more Vitamin B6, a crucial B vitamin:
3. Vitamin C
Cataracts, the cloudy areas that develop on the lens of your eye, are among the most common reasons your vision can get worse as you get older.
“Vitamins C and E are powerful antioxidants. As such, they have been associated with a lower risk of developing cataracts,” Garg says.
Antioxidants help protect against free radicals that can cause changes to the lens in your eye, leading to a cloudy appearance that disrupts your vision.
Several studies have shown that getting at least 140 mg per day of vitamin C (for reference, the recommended value is 60 to 90mg per day) can help prevent cataracts from developing. But be careful not to get too much, since a very large 2013 study found that getting over 500mg of vitamin C may actually increase the risk of cataracts for certain groups, like men who are smokers or obese.
Studies also show that vitamin C can also help slow the progression of AMD by strengthening the blood vessels in your eye that support the retina. A large 2016 study found that people with higher intake of vitamin C were significantly less likely to suffer from AMD.
Some good sources of vitamin C are:
4. Vitamin E
Vitamin E also acts as an antioxidant in your body and studies show that it may protect you from vision loss in old age.
More research is needed, but some studies suggest that eating a diet rich in vitamin E or taking vitamin E supplements over a long term may help prevent cataracts and AMD.
A large 2005 study found that people who took vitamin E supplements were less likely to develop cloudy eye lenses over the course of 5 years. However, a large 2001 study found that taking a daily 400 IU vitamin supplement had no effect on eye cloudiness.
Studies also show that the antioxidants in vitamin E can help slow down the progression of cataracts, and experts recommend taking at least 100IU to get a benefit.
Some foods that are rich in vitamin E include:
Takeaways
Getting enough of these important vitamins in your diet can go a long way towards strengthening and protecting your eyesight. In most cases, you likely won’t need to take additional supplements unless you have a vitamin deficiency.
“For most people, the amount of these vitamins that we get from a well-balanced diet is plenty,” Garg says.
But, if you have a serious condition like AMD, your doctor may recommend that you use supplements. “There are high dose vitamins for macular degeneration that are widely available,” Garg says.
However, because taking high doses of supplements can cause health issues in some cases, “people should not take these high dose vitamins unless they discuss it with their ophthalmologist,” Garg says.