Here is an old video, but very good, referencing several studies. It does touch upon lutein and zeaxanthin for eye health (macular degeneration), but in the context of brain health, the impact of penetration to the brain tissue and the impact on brain health and cognitive performance (there’s a section on pediatric impact which can be ignored). In adults and the elderly, lutein appears particularly consequential, especially when combined with DHA, there appears to be a strong cognitive signal.
I also appreciated the mention of lutein interaction with lipids and transporters in the serum - here not surprisingly, it is the HDL that is the active transporter. Why does it matter? Because it means if you take statins, you should be OK, as statins lower LDL, but spare HDL, so that’s one worry less vs the common statin/dementia fear, the lutein in the brain will be fine and not impaired by a statin.
I already supplement with lutein, but was always paranoid for my supplement to include enough zeaxanthin. However, I’m slightly less paranoid now, as it appears that it is the lutein that is the star.
I read a bunch about the goji and apparently there is a lectin that tends ot open up the tight junctions in your gut in the berries. This makes it easier for the lutein and zeaxanthin to get through. So the berries work better. This is my interpretation, didn’t read it and can’t blame it on somebody else. I’ve been taking twice as much every other day with berries. I’d like my MPOD tested now, called today and didn’t get the call back.
Yes, but as the video says, the real question about lutein is how exactly does it get into the brain, because while a better score for the eyes is great, we are also very interested in the effect on the brain. She said the assumption is that greater deposits in the macula also implies greater infiltration into the brain, but the exact mechanism is unknown. We do know that in those studies they simply used supplements, and those apparently work, which is good enough for me.
The goji berries are interesting, but I’m very wary of anything that comes from China - I posted a recent article detailing appalling practices of farmers using industrial chemicals and soaking the goji berries in a toxic brew. This might be a new development wrt. the goji berries, but I avoid all food/supplement/spice from China to the greatest degree possible; I don’t feel like investigating where each vendor sources their berries.
