Thursday, December 3, 2009

Do Eye Vitamins really work?

Eye vitamins do little to control vision loss. Be it carrots or expensive eye vitamins and eye health supplements, one hardly sees any improvement in conditions of our eyes. I was quite irked when despite popping eye vitamins pills for years. I couldn't get rid of dry eyes and still needed to wear my glasses. In short, I came to believe that eye vitamins might not do any damage to my health, but they do not make much of a positive contribution either. Still, since I don't want to take risk, I will listen to my good old mom's advise and eat my carrots.

By the way, my mom has been suffering from age-related macular degeneration of dry type. She is above 50 and the arteries of her central retina is hardening up, resulting in progressive loss of her sight. Her doctor commends her for taking being a regular on fruits and green leafy vegetables along with multivitamins with zinc and lutein and says that it certainly slows down her eye's degenerative process. In fact, there is a study which says that eye vitamins can slow down the rate of macular degeneration by as much as 25% in five years.

Antioxidants found in carotenoids are often advertised as protecting the eye from free radical damage but they can increase the chances of lung cancer, especially in smokers. Home remedies such as fish oil and flaxseed seem to be a better option to me now than buying eye vitamins.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Health Vitamins

Health Vitamins are potent organic compounds which are required in our bodies so that we remain healthy. If you have come across someone saying Vitamins give us energy or build structures within us, then you better be informed that it is not so. But then these are vital compounds, the deficiency of which can wreck havoc in our lives causing one disease or the other. The health vitamins, with the help of enzymes, contribute in a significant way in the various chemical reactions occurring within our body.

While some vitamins are found in groups or pairs, there are ones which occur singly. Vitamins are present in almost every kind of food, yet inadequate or excessive consumption can cause problems. These, work well in small quantities and the amount required also differs from me to you and from you to him/her. Besides, the daily requirement also doesn’t remain fixed. Vitamin E is an excellent antioxidant which battles aging. Vitamin B on the other hand aids in balancing the cholesterol levels within our body.

It is also believed that the B complex vitamin also prevents the formation of cancerous cells. It is also helpful in preventing other genetic mutations, Alzheimer’s disease and keeps the digestive tract, eyes, nerves and other organs healthy. Again, Vitamin C is known to prevent scurvy and gout. These days, people are resorting to vitamin supplements for the overall health of their body. Multivitamin tablets are becoming very popular.

Now-a-days, you can also get health vitamin capsules specially created for men and women. The vitamins keep the body relaxed and allow the various body functions to run smoothly. There are multivitamin tablets which are taken by people in prescribed dozes if sleep doesn’t come that easily to them. A popular health Vitamin which induces restful sleep is Vitamin D. The health vitamins are also making their way into the skin care and hair care products these days like lip balms, lipsticks, nail polishes, shampoos, hair oils and so on.