Vision Forte (60)
Vision Forte contains natural forms of vitamins A and E, 5 different forms of vitamin C, bioavailable forms of zinc and selenium, guaranteed content of lutein.
The product has been manufactured using high quality pure raw materials and the technology that ensures all their beneficial properties intact, in strict compliance with GMP and TÜV regulations.
Our eyes are a priceless gift of nature, after all about 70% of the information we receive from the outside world comes to us through vision.
Never before in the history of human development has vision played such an important role as it does now in our active dynamic life in the 21st century.
Unfortunately, according to statistics seven out of ten people today have vision problems.
Eyes are not only a reflection of the soul, but a reflection of our health as well; they show the overall condition of the body (cardio-vascular diseases, diabetes, and others).
Vision tends to get weaker with age, by the age of 40 many people start to experience difficulties with reading or seeing small details.
There are few ways to preserve your eye health:
1. Proper diet. Less animal fat and sugar – more fruits and vegetables containing antioxidants - substances helping fight the destruction caused by free radicals.
2. Do not forget to protect your eyes from bright sun light, smoke, and dust.
3. Do not smoke.
4. Try not to overstrain your eyes, take a break from the computer, or TV screen periodically.
5. Do not forget to do exercises for the eyes.
6. Regular eye examination will help you to uncover the problem beforehand and start treatment on time.
7. Food supplements are helpful prophylaxis measures for healthy vision.
Santegra®’s product – Vision Forte™ is a multi-functional product that not only supports healthy vision but has overall health benefits..
The main ingredients:
Beta-carotene – transforms into vitamin A in the body. Vitamin A is an extremely important nutrient for the vision: it provides antioxidant effect, protects against free radicals’ destroying action, improves twilight vision, prevents cataract development, and macular degeneration - old age diseases.
The retina of the eye is very sensitive to vitamin A (which is called also retinol). It’s deficiency can provoke night blindness and diseases such as keratitis and blepharitis.
Vitamin C in Vision Forte™ is present in five different forms: ascorbic acid, calcium ascorbate, ascorbyl palmitate, acerola fruit extract, rose hips powder, which greatly increases its bioavailability. Vitamin C improves blood circulation in the eye, increases blood vessels’ elasticity, prevents retinal hemorrhaging and cataract, is an antioxidant.
Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant, which protects fragile eye capillaries, and decreases vascular permeability. Clinical research shows that a combination of Vitamin E, Vitamin C, and Beta-carotene intake drastically decreases the chances of retinal detachment.
Vitamin E in Vision Forte™ is in the form of d-alfa-tocopheryl succinate – with much higher bioactivity than the synthetic forms.
Zinc demonstrates antioxidant activity and prevents the development of macular degeneration and reduction of twilight vision.
Selenium has an antioxidant effect, which protects intracellular tissue structure of an eye from free radical destruction. Selenium deficit plays a major role in cataract development mechanism.
Lutein is a natural colorant or pigment, found in dark green leafy vegetables such as spinach, plus various yellow-red fruits, calendula and corn. Egg yolks are also good sources of lutein. Lutein is very important for eye health, but the body does not manufacture lutein. The only way to get lutein is by eating foods containing lutein or consuming dietary supplements that contain lutein.
Within the eye, lutein is highly concentrated in the macular region of the retina and is dispersed in lower amounts throughout the retina and lens. This is the area responsible for vision.
Lutein provides nutritional support for our eyes. Studies suggest that Lutein and zeaxanthin in lens and retina may provide supplemental antioxidant capacity to the eyes, helping counteract free radical damage, protect photoreceptor cells from light. Lutein has been linked to promoting healthy eyes through reducing the risk of macular degeneration, cataract, and diabetic retinal angiopathy. Macular degeneration is a major reason of nonrecoverable vision loss in the USA. 20% of people 65 years or older suffer from this disease. The clinical research showed that Lutein and zeaxanthin intake can decrease the chances of developing age-related macular degeneration and cataract by 30-50%.
Nowadays computers are an essential part of our lives. People who spend long hours in front of the computer screens often complain about eye irritation, watering eyes, fatigue, and headache. The computer monitor is harmful for eyes because of the ultraviolet light radiation. You need to take additional vitamins-antioxidants to protect your eyes and engage in easy exercises to relieve the stress from the eyes.
Rotation. Close your eyes and move them left, up, right, down. Reverse the rotation. Do 4 rotations in one direction, and 4 in the opposite direction. Try not to blink.
Up and down. Close your eyes again, look up, and down. Do 8.
Blinking. Look straight forward in front of you and blink quickly for 30 seconds, then look straight for 30 seconds, repeat 3 times.
Focal distance change. Look at the tip of your nose, then into the distance. Look at the finger or tip of the pencil, that you hold 10 inches (30 cm) from your eyes, and then into the distance. Repeat a few times. Close your eyes, blink a couple of times.
Eyelid massage. Massage eyelids softly by index or middle finger from nose to temples, then rub the palms of your hand and cover the eyes softly by your hands to block the light for 1 minute.
Usage
As a dietary supplement take 1 tablet with a large glass of water twice a day with a meal.
Contraindication
Individual intolerance.
The human eye is an elongated ball about 1-inch (2.5 cm) in diameter and is protected by a bony socket in the skull. The eye has three layers or coats that make up the exterior wall of the eyeball, which are the sclera, choroid, and retina.
Sclera
The outer layer of the eye is the sclera, which is a tough white fibrous layer that maintains, protects and supports the shape of the eye. The front of the sclera is transparent and is called the cornea. The cornea refracts light rays and acts like the outer window of the eye.
Choroid
The middle thin layer of the eye is the choroid, it is the vascular layer of the eye lying between the retina and the sclera. The choroid provides oxygen and nourishment to the outer layers of the retina. It also contains a nonreflective pigment that acts as a light shield and prevents light from scattering. Light enters the front of the eye through a hole in the choroid coat called the pupil. The iris contracts and dilates to compensate for the changes in light intensity. Just posterior to the iris is the lens.
Retina
The third or the innermost layer of the eye is called the retina. Within the retina there are cells called rod cells and cone cells also known as photoreceptors. The rod cells are very sensitive to light and do not see color. The cone cells are sensitive to different wavelengths of light, and that is how we are able to tell different colors. At the center of the retina is the optic disc, sometimes known as "the blind spot" because it lacks photoreceptors. It is where the optic nerve leaves the eye and takes the nerve impulses to the brain. The cornea and the lens of the eye focus the light onto a small area of the retina called the fovea centralis.
Retina is the only part of nervous system that is open to the light, and its excess can cause the damage. According to epidemiologic evidences, there is a connection between the intensity and spectral distribution of light, and development of some diseases – such as age-related macular degeneration of retina. Blue and ultra-violet lights are the most harmful for eyes. In the evolution process the reliable anti-oxidant light defense mechanism was developed with carotenoids playing the major role in this process.
Studies have found that higher intakes of fruit and vegetables can decrease the risk of age related eye problems such as cataracts and macular degeneration. It is thought that certain dietary antioxidants protect against free radical damage involved in the pathogenesis of these diseases. The carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin may be at least in part responsible, as they tend to accumulate in tissues of the eye. (1)
The yellow color of the macula lutea is due to the presence of the carotenoid pigments lutein and zeaxanthin. The macular carotenoids are suggested to play a role in the protection of the retina against light-induced damage. Epidemiological studies provide some evidence that an increased consumption of lutein and zeaxanthin with the diet is associated with a lowered risk for age-related macular degeneration, a disease with increasing incidence in the elderly. Protecting ocular tissue against photooxidative damage carotenoids may act in two ways: first as filters for damaging blue light, and second as antioxidants that can help reduce harmful free radicals that can occur in cells and may contribute to cell damage. (2)
Lutein
Human body cannot synthesize carotenoids, they are obtained from food. We are born with necessary amount of lutein and zeaxanthin, but their levels decrease, mostly because of the unfavorable effect of the environment. This is why it is important to receive them from outside.
Lutein is found in a variety of plants such as spinach, kale, broccoli, bilberries, and grapes. Lutein is also present in eggs and in corn and is partly responsible for the yellow color they have. In spite of the fact that lutein is easily absorbed from the food, studies demonstrated that most of us do not get an adequate amount of it. (3)
According to the research most of the Europeans receive only from 1 mg to 3 mg lutein per day, but scientists recommend that 6 mg is the minimal amount required by the organism.
Vitamin-antioxidants such as vitamin C, E, beta-carotene also provide an eye protective effect from damage, and promote restoration processes. Vitamin C level in the eye tissues decreases with age, and this can affect the capillary wall integrity and increase the risk of cataract development.
Clinical research demonstrated that 6 mg of lutein a day can lower the risk of macular degeneration by 43%. In people suffering from macular degeneration lutein and zeaxanthin levels in macula retinae area is 40% lower than in healthy people.
The medical trial conducted by Dr. Hammond BR and coworkers showed that the patients who demonstrated the unchanged macular pigment density for the duration of 5 years, had increased macula retinae dencity after 14 weeks of being on the diet rich with lutein and zeaxanthin. And the most importantly this level remained unchanged for another 9 month after carotenoids had been discontinued. (4)
In 1999, data from the Nurses Health Study showed a reduced likelihood of cataract surgery with increasing intakes of lutein and another carotenoid – zeaxanthin (6 mg/day). (5)
Researchers conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of lutein. The study enrolled 90 people with dry-type macular degeneration and followed them for 12 months. The participants received either lutein (10 mg), lutein plus other antioxidants, and a multivitamin/mineral supplement, or placebo. At the end of the study period, participants who had taken lutein alone or lutein plus the other nutrients showed improvements in vision, while no change in vision was seen in the placebo group. (6)
Animal toxicology studies have been performed to established lutein's safety as a nutrient. These studies have contributed to the classification of purified crystalline lutein as generally recognized as safe. (7)
The research from the Departments of Epidemiology, Nutrition, and Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston had an objective to examine the association between carotenoid and vitamin A intakes and cataract in men. 36644 US male health professionals who were 45–75 years of age in 1986 were included in this study. A detailed dietary questionnaire was used to assess intake of carotenoids and other nutrients. During 8 years of follow-up, 840 cases of cataract were documented. It observed a modestly lower risk of cataract in men with higher intakes of lutein and zeaxanthin. Men in the highest fifth of lutein and zeaxanthin intake had a 19% lower risk of cataract relative to men in the lowest fifth (relative risk: 0.81; 95% CI: 0.65, 1.01; P for trend = 0.03). Among specific foods high in carotenoids, broccoli and spinach were most consistently associated with a lower risk of cataract. (8)
In the Los Angeles Atherosclerosis Study researchers monitored 480 men and women between ages 40 and 60. Participants had no history of heart disease or stroke. Using ultrasound technology, the researchers measured the thickness of the walls of the carotid (neck) arteries once at the beginning of the study and again 18 months later. They also measured levels of lutein in participants’ blood over the same time span. They found that people whose blood carried the highest levels of lutein averaged only a 0.004 mm increase in the artery thickness over 18 months. In those with the lowest levels of lutein, artery wall thickness increased an average of 0.021 mm.
The second part of the study explored how lutein may protect cells in artery walls. Researchers grew layers of cells from human arteries in a lab, and then exposed them to various combinations of lutein and LDL (or low-density lipoprotein, the so-called "bad" cholesterol known to promote atherosclerosis). They found that arterial cell layers treated with lutein were less prone to starting a process of inflammation related to LDL that leads to atherosclerotic plaque. In the third part of the study, done with mice, the team found that adding lutein to the diet resulted in the mice having significantly smaller atherosclerotic lesions compared to mice that had no lutein supplementation.
These results support the theory that lutein from food or in supplements has a protective effect on humans against atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. (9)
1. Nutr Rev. 2005 Feb;63(2):59-64.
2. Dev Ophthalmol. 2005;38:70-88.
3. Alves-Rodrigues A, Shao A. The science behind lutein. Toxicol Lett 2004; 150: 57-83.
4. Hammond BR, Johnson EJ, Russell RM, Krinsky NI, Yuem KJ, Edwards RB. et al. Dietary modilication of human macular pigment density. Iпvest Opthaтol Vis Sci 1997:38(9):1795-1801.
5. Chasen-Taber et al., "A Prospective Study of Carotenoid and Vitamin A Intakes and Risk of Cataract Extraction in US Women," American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1999, Vol. 70, pgs. 509-516.
6. Richer S, Stiles W, Statkute L, et al. Double-masked, placebo-controlled, randomized trial of lutein and antioxidant supplementation in the intervention of atrophic age-related macular degeneration: the Veterans LAST study (Lutein Antioxidant Supplementation Trial). Optometry 2004;75:216–30.
7. Alves-Rodrigues A, Shao A. The science behind lutein. Toxicol Lett 2004; 150: 57-83.
8. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 70, No. 4, 517-524, October 1999
9. “The Los Angeles Atherosclerosis Study” Circulation, June 19, 2001, Vol. 103, No. 24.