According to research, two-thirds of all Americans will have a cataract by age eighty-five. There is growing evidence that vitamin E may help to prevent this most common age-related vision problem. A cataract is a cloudy or opaque covering that grows over the lens of the eye, which can cause total or partial blindness. A cataract can distort vision by making objects look vague and fuzzy. If the cloudiness on the eye lens becomes so severe it hampers vision, the cataract must be surgically removed. Four million U.S. men and women have cataracts, and most people who have them are over the age of sixty. Cataracts are so commonplace in the United States that more than 10 percent of the Medicare budget is spent on cataract surgery.
In rare cases, a cataract may be caused by a genetic problem, but the overwhelming majority of cases are caused by cellular damage to the eye lens inflicted by exposure to ultraviolet and visible light. The lens of the eye is particularly susceptible to light-induced lipid and protein oxidation, a major factor in the majority of cases of cataracts. The lens contains proteins called crystallins, which, when damaged, can become irregular and refract light in the wrong way, thereby leading to cataract formation.
There are several reasons why I am optimistic that vitamin E may prove to be a useful tool in the prevention of cataracts of the eye. First, numerous animal studies have shown that vitamin E can arrest and reverse the development of cataracts symptoms and can protect the sensitive lens tissue from oxidative damage. Second, population studies have documented that people with low blood levels of antioxidants E, C, and carotenoids are more likely to develop cataracts than those with higher levels. The third, and perhaps the most persuasive, bit of evidence is a recent study that actually contrasted the self-reported consumption of supplements by 175 cataract-free patients over fifty-five to that of 175 patients of the same age group with cataracts. The cataract-free group used significantly more vitamins C and E than the group that already had developed cataracts. I think it is fair to say that even if vitamin E does not do the job alone, in combination with other network antioxidants it may offer powerful protection against cataracts of the eye.
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