Scientists have found that there is a lower cataract risk as well as lower chance of cataracts becoming more serious in patients who take high levels of vitamin C looking at data from the Nurses’ Health Study and the Beaver Dam Study. Other researchers found that the Beaver Dam Eye Study and Nurses’ Health Study found that women who have the highest intake of vitamin E from food and supplements, about 262 mg a day (the equivalent of 3 cups of almonds!) were 14% less likely to develop cataracts than those who consumed only 4 mg a day.
Vitamin E functions as an antioxidant scavenging free radicals and providing many other valuable functions. Other food sources include wheat germ, other nuts and seeds and leafy dark green vegetables.
See more related studies on nutrition and cataracts.
Another observational 10-year study of more than 35,000 middle-aged U.S. women observed the women’s use of dietary supplements and occurrence of cataracts.*
The study found significant evidence that women who got more lutein, zeaxanthin and vitamin E were less likely to develop cataracts than women who are lacking intake of these nutrients. In fact, the women who got the most lutein, zeaxanthin and vitamin E were 18% less likely to get cataracts.
*Christen, W. Archives of Ophthalmology, January 2008; vol 126: pp 102-109