While there are a host of vision supplements on the market, the compounds now under investigation that have proven to protect against disease were folic acid, vitamin B12 and vitamin B6.
Researchers tested the vitamins for more than seven years in 5,205 women who didn’t have age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of vision loss among seniors. One group of women took the vitamins daily and another group took placebos.
Every year the women completed questionnaires that asked how well they were adhering to taking their daily pills and whether they had developed any signs of macular degeneration.
After 7.3 years, the researchers found that the women who took the supplements had a 34 percent lower risk of macular degeneration than those who were taking the placebo. The dosages used in the study were 2.5 mg of folic acid, 50 mg of vitamin B6 and 1 mg of vitamin B12. Now these results have to be confirmed by additional studies that also include men.
