I Didn’t Expect Eye Supplements to Affect Longevity — But They Might

You've probably heard that lutein and zeazanthin are good for your eyes. And that's true. Several human clinical trials show these compounds can improve vision and reduce digital eye strain. But what if I told you that these nutrients don't just protect your eyes. They also protect your brain, your skin, and in animal studies, they might even extend lifespan. In this video, I'm going to explain how these carotenoids work and why they seem to benefit multiple organ systems such as your eyes, brain, and skin. Let's start with the research on eye health. There are human random control trials and meta analyses showing that luteine and zeazanthin supplementation improves eye strain dry eyes and macular pigment optical density MOPD which is an indicator of eye health. The doses for that range from 5 to 20 milligs a day. Doses below 5 milligs haven't been seen to have an effect. This study also found that luteine 10 milligrams a day and zeazanthin 2 milligrams a day was also seen to reduce the progression of age related macular degeneration by 31% compared to placebo. Those taking the supplements had 190 to 210% higher serum luteine and zeazanthin concentrations after 1 year. Children receiving gummies with 10 milligrams of luteine and 2 milligrams of zeazanthin have a 25% increase in macular pigment optical density improved attention memory learning and reduced eye strain after 6 months. They also have higher serum levels of BDNF or brain derived neurotrophic factor which increases the growth of brain cells. So does this mean that lutein and ziganthin are also good for the brain? Interestingly yes. Supplementing with lutein and zeazanthin has been shown to improve visual memory, learning and cognitive function in people with cognitive complaints in randomized control trials. The doses range from 10 to 12 milligs for luteine and 2 milligs of zeazanthin for 6 to 12 months. Higher carotenoid levels in the brain and blood are associated with better cognitive function, better memory and learning and a reduced incidence of dementia in children as well as centinarians. On the other hand, low blood carotenoid levels are associated with a higher risk of dementia, mild cognitive impairment, and cognitive dysfunction. The reason these eye supplements are good for the brain is because your eyes are a direct extension of your brain. The eyes are directly connected to the brain and they're similar in function. The eyes are one of the most power hungry organs you have and they have one of the most amount of mitochondria similar to the brain. Because they contain a lot of mitochondria, they're also the most vulnerable to oxidative stress because that's where most of the energy production occurs. Artificial blue light especially damages the retina in the eyes as well as the mitochondria. And carotenoids mitigate that damage and protect against artificial blue light specifically, which is why they reduce digital eye strain. There's an additional reason why eye health is crucial to your overall longevity. You see, the majority of our circadian rhythm signaling also occurs through the eyes that tell the brain what time of the day it is based on the wavelengths of light. With age, circadian rhythm regulation worsens, as I've shared before in my other videos, and this results in lower hormone production, circadian rhythm disregulation, and worse sleep quality. So, I hope you can start to see why protecting your eyes is crucial for protecting your brain against aging, and why it also has a central role in overall longevity. As your eyes get weaker, as your eyesight gets worse with age, your brain detects less of these circadian rhythms because the transmission to the brain through the eyes is weaker. I wouldn't be surprised if part of the reason why older people have worse circadian function is because of the worsening eyesight. The worsening eyesight precipitates the decline in brain function. So taking care of your eyes is more important than you think. And these carotonides do protect your eyes. Besides lutein and zeazanthin, another popular carotenoid asexanthin has also been seen to improve eyesight as well as improve symptoms of dry eye disease. This does bring me to asexthin which has also been seen to extend lifespan in animals. One of the more known and established benefits of asexanthin in humans is skin health. Similar to the eyes, asexanthin protects the skin against oxidative stress, specifically UV radiation from the sun, which is why asexanthin is often called internal sunscreen. Higher aexanthin makes your skin more resilient against the sun. Two systematic reviews of randomized control trials have seen that asexanthin supplementation improve skin elasticity, skin moisture, and photoagging. So, asexanthin protects the eyes, asexanthin also protects your skin. Do lutein and zeazanthin protect your skin because they do protect your eyes. Yes, human trials show they do. They have skin protective effects as well as improvements on skin tone and skin pigmentation and the evidence is quite plentiful. The reason these carotenoids protect your skin is because of the same reasons they protect your eyes. They're very powerful antioxidants and they mitigate UV radiation and UV damage, especially if you were to look at it over the course of years and decades. In fact, aexanthin is said to be 6,000 times more potent of an antioxidant than vitamin C in cell studies. In living organisms, the effect is about 500 to 600 times, but that's still a very significant amount. This means that asexanthin is incredibly potent compared to regular antioxidants like vitamin C. So far we've talked about lutein, zeazanthin, and asexanthin which are the more known carotenoids. But there are a few others with some interesting research. Beta carotene is a carotenoid you get from orange vegetables like carrots and sweet potatoes. Lycopine is a red carotenoid from tomatoes and other red vegetables or fruits. They tend to improve the pigmentation and coloration of your skin, giving it a more tanned glow without getting an actual tan. A 2017 study found that beta carotene supplementation at a dose of 30 milligrams a day for 12 weeks changed skin color and pigmentation in a way that enhanced self-p perceived health and attractiveness in men. However, they saw no effect on oxidative stress or immune markers. Beta carotene and lycopene reduce the oxidative stress caused by UV radiation. They reduce inflammation in the skin, reduce UVA induced pigmentation, and increase UV resistance in the skin. There's much less research about beta carotene and lycopine when it comes to skin health and overall health, but they do have some evidence for skin aesthetic reasons such as skin pigmentation and coloration. All in all, I think lutein, zeanthin, and aexanthin are god tier supplements. The reason is that they have a lot of mechanistic evidence as well as human evidence. And if you look at the studies, they do work for skin health, eye health, and potentially brain health. I don't think everyone needs to supplement these carotenoids, but they are a low-hanging fruit in terms of improving skin health, eye health, and overall inflammation status. Check out my video where I rank 100 supplements from worst to best.