How much lutein and zeaxanthin per day?

Are you feeling a little yellow lately? Or maybe orange? No, I’m not talking about your fashion choices—I’m talking about your eyes!

Lutein and zeaxanthin are two chemical compounds that give fruits and veggies their lovely yellows, oranges, and greens. But more importantly (at least for us), they’re also crucial for our eye health.

So the question is: how much lutein and zeaxanthin do we need to eat each day to keep our peepers in tip-top shape?

What Are Lutein And Zeaxanthin?

Before we get into all the science-y stuff, let’s take a minute to talk about what lutein and zeaxanthin actually are.

As mentioned before, they’re both naturally occurring pigments found in plants like spinach, kale, corns, carrots, pumpkin seeds, peppers, squash—basically anything colorful enough to catch your attention at the farmer’s market.

But why should we care about these pigments? Well, because they play an important role in protecting our eyes from damage caused by harmful blue light rays.

Now here comes the real fun part…

Time For Science!

Warning: things are gonna get a bit technical now. Don’t say I didn’t warn ya!

Different parts of our eyes absorb different wavelengths of light—one of which being blue light. While some blue light is necessary for us to see properly during daytime hours (circadian rhythm anyone?), overexposure can cause damage over time.

That’s where lutein and zeaxanthan come in—they effectively function as “sunglasses” within our eyes by absorbing excess blue light (how cool is that?). This helps prevent oxidative stress that can lead to age-related macular degeneration (AMD) or other eye-related problems.

How Much Do We Need?

So, now that we know what lutein and zeaxanthin do for us, how much should we be consuming?

Well, the American Optometric Association (AOA) recommends a daily intake of 10 mg of lutein and 2 mg of zeaxanthan. But if you’re already eating plenty of leafy greens or other colorful fruits/veggies on the reg, chances are you might already be getting enough!

Getting Your Daily Dose

Of course, it’s always good to double-check your diet just in case. Here are some foods high in these two compounds:

  • Leafy greens like kale, spinach, and collard greens
  • Yellow/orange-colored veggies like carrots, pumpkin/squash, peppers
  • Egg yolks (Time to make an omelet!)
  • Corn
  • Kiwi fruit

If you still feel like you’re not meeting your daily quota through diet alone, supplements can also be a helpful option! You’ll want to look for supplements specifically labeled with “lutein” and/or “zeaxanthan” content.

## The Bottom Line

So there ya have it—how much lutein and zeaxanthan per day is no longer a mystery! While their names may sound intimidating at first, these two carotenoids pack a punch when it comes protecting our vision from damage caused by blue light radiation . Whether you decide to up your spinach intake or pop some pills each morning is totally up to you—but either way, your eyes will thank you down the line.

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