Olive oil, eggs improves vision (page4)

The volunteers were fed one egg or an egg substitute for five weeks before crossing over to the other intervention. After five weeks of the one egg per day intervention, lutein and zeaxanthin blood content had increased by 26 and 38 per cent, respectively, compared to no-egg run-in without it affecting the blood levels of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and fats.


In the second study, Adam Wenzel and co-workers looked at the effect of a 12-week egg intervention on serum lutein and zeaxanthin levels, and the so-called macular pigment optical density (MOPD) in 24 women aged between 24 and 59. The women were randomly assigned to eat six eggs every week.


Unlike the other study, only zeaxanthin level, but not lutein, increased in those that had eggs, while MPOD increased in both egg intervention groups, a result that suggested that the egg diet offers an alternative method of protecting against potential AMD.


They said that though the aggregate concentration of carotenoid in one egg yolk may be modest relative to other sources, such as spinach, their bioavailability to the retina appears to be high. Even though researchers said the prevalence of the condition is likely to increase as the population ages but there is currently no known way of preventing the condition.

However, more and more research is focusing on potentially modifiable risk factors and nutrient-based approaches, most notably on the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin.