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Antioxidant Building Blocks

Did you know you can help your body create and maintain healthy levels of antioxidants?

Oxidative Stress Consequences

Mix of differrent berries

Our body is under constant stress due to the creation of free radicals. Oxidative stress, resulting from the presence of free radicals, is implicated directly or indirectly in many vision and health conditions. Some researchers consider oxidative stress to be the root of all (non-genetic driven) health conditions. With respect to vision, it is a factor in deterioration of the macula,1 the cornea,2 the photoreceptors,3 retinal microcapillaries,4 and the optic nerve.5 Even for those prone to genetic diseases, free radicals can significantly worsen health conditions.

Free Radicals

Free radicals are created when a chemical bond is broken. This occurs naturally in normal metabolism, but the over-generation of free radicals can result from excess sugar intake, processed foods, fried foods, trans-fatty acids, charred food, cooked and processed meats, or excess alcohol. Environmental factors such as cigarette smoke, radiation, pollution, and herbicides can also create free radicals, as can chronic stress.

Antioxidants neutralize free radicals by donating an electron to unstable atoms. In that way, they inhibit oxidation of molecules. After being neutralized, the free radicals will no longer attempt to damage cells, and therefore they become less harmful to the body.

How to Increase Antioxidants

If given the right building blocks, your body can manufacture certain antioxidants.

    • The body makes some of its own antioxidants, including glutathione, superoxide dismutase, and coenzyme Q10. Glutathione and superoxide dismutase are known to neutralize the full spectrum of free radicals.
    • Selenium, riboflavin, vitamin C, cysteine, glycine, and glutamine are needed to produce glutathione.
    • Alpha-lipoic acid, CoQ10, and vitamin D also can be made in the body.
    • Other antioxidants must be ingested, including resveratrol, carotenoids, astaxanthin, lutein, zeaxanthin, meso-zeaxanthin, vitamin C, bilberry, and vitamin E.
    • Fruits, vegetables, some herbs and spices, and mushrooms provide a wide range of antioxidants.

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) supports all cellular activity, muscle health, and heart health. Healthy individuals naturally produce sufficient CoQ10. However, a genetic flaw, advanced age, low fat intake, side effects from statin drugs, and other reasons can cause a deficiency. Some doctors routinely prescribe CoQ10 for statin drug users. If tests reveal a deficiency, supplementation is needed.

Alpha-lipoic acid is not a vitamin, but we consider it vitamin-like in its vision-supporting activity. It also enhances the effectiveness of glutathione and CoQ10, and it complements the vitamin B family in generating energy through the breakdown of food into fats, proteins, and carbohydrates.

Antioxidants and Vision Disorders

As we age, decreases in antioxidant levels in the eyes are believed to be a major factor in the decline of vision. For example, the destruction of retinal cells can occur slowly over many years, due to exposure to UV sunlight or from a gradual degradation of the antioxidant defense system.

Stress and inflammation play critical roles in the start and progression of many eye diseases, including macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataract, macular edema, and diabetic retinopathy that, if untreated, lead to progressive loss of vision and blindness.6 7 8

Growing evidence indicates that supplementing with targeted antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrients may have a role in the prevention and treatment of these age-related eye disorders. Doctors and eye care professionals often overlook the power of antioxidants, despite the many peer-reviewed research studies confirming the essential need for such nutrients for eye and overall health. However, you can take steps to increase antioxidants available in your system by eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, taking targeting supplements and managing stress.

For diet recommendations, see our Vision Diet.

Brain Health

Healthy amounts of antioxidants are essential for supporting healthy brain function, protecting against premature apoptosis (brain cell death), supporting memory including building new memories, and reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s Disease and other types of dementia. For example, glutathione is a master antioxidant and is the antioxidant found in greatest quantity in the brain. In studies of Alzheimer’s patents, glutathione has been found to be significantly deficient in the brain. In fact, most of the antioxidants that nourish the retina and optic nerve have been found to pass through the blood-brain barrier and are used by the body to keep the brain healthy. The optic is actually brain tissue so the connection is very strong,

Top Antioxidants

Top antioxidants include: glutathione, CoQ10, Alpha Lipoic Acid, Vitamin C, D and E, resveratrol, carotenoids such as beta-carotene, astaxanthin, meso-zeaxanthin, zeaxanthin, lycopene, and lutein.  They are found in brightly colored fruits and vegetables. The eyes require relatively large amounts of carotenoids for healthy vision maintenance. The macula (part of the retina where we get our most detailed vision) gets its yellow color from zeaxanthin and lutein, which protects it from damage from UV and blue light exposure.

Note. Nutrients that support mitochondrial function (and against mitochondrial dysfunction) include: Vitamins B1, B2, B6, C, D and E, l-carnosine, l-taurine, CoQ10, benfotiamine, alpha-R-lipoic acid, PQQ (pyrroloquinoline quinone), luteolin [from orange extract fruit), l-carnitine, trans-resveratrol, curcumin, magnesium, and schisandra. Mitochondria are basically the batteries of our cells, and when not functionally well, can lead vision and brain disorders.

Supplement Recommendations

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Footnotes

  1. Blasiak J, Petrovski G, Vereb Z, Facsko A, Kaamiranta K. (2014). Oxidative stress, hypoxia, and autophagy in the neovascular processes of age-related macular degeneration. Biomed Res Int. 2014:768026. ↩
  2.  Cejka C, Cejkova J. (2015). Oxidative stress to the cornea, changes in corneal optical properties, and advances in treatment of corneal oxidative injuries. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2015:591530. ↩
  3. Tsuruma K, Yamauchi M, Inokuchi Y, Sugitani S, Shimazawa M, et al. (2012). Role of oxidative stress in retinal photoreceptor cell death in N-methyl-N-nitrosourea-treated mice. J Phrarmacol Sci. 118(3):351-62. ↩
  4. Kowluru RA, Kowluru A, Mishra M, Kumar B. (2015). Oxidative stress and epigenetic modifications in the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy. Prog Retin Eye Res. Sep;48:40-61. ↩
  5. O’Hare DRL, Barlett CA, Maghzal GJ, Lam M, Archer M, et al. (2014). Reactive species and oxidative stress in optic nerve vulnerable to secondary degeneration. Exp Neurol. Nov;261:136-46. ↩
  6. Levkovitch-Verbin H. (2015). Retinal ganglion cell apoptotic pathway in glaucoma: Initiating and downstream mechanisms. Prog. Brain Res. 220:37–57. ↩
  7. Kowluru RA, Mishra M. (2015). Oxidative stress, mitochondrial damage and diabetic retinopathy. Biochem Biophys Acta. 1852:2474–2483. ↩
  8. Dib B, Lin H, Maidana DE, Tian B, Miller JB, et al. (2015). Mitochondrial DNA has a pro-inflammatory role in AMD. Biochem Biophys Acta. 1853:2897–2906. ↩