Is lutein the next new ‘vitamin’?

Humans’ reliance on eyesight is almost absolute. It is taken for granted that over the course of a lifetime, the eyes will continue to relay the surfeit of visual information required by the brain to help navigate environments and interact with the world around us. But because we live in a blue world, vision comes at a cost exacted daily when the eyes are open. Luckily, with Lutein, there is a protective solution.

There are known and cost-effective interventions, including early and adequate dietary intake of the macular carotenoids lutein, RR-zeaxanthin and RS [meso]-zeaxanthin. Consistent and daily intake of these nutrients plays a key role in visual function and protection, especially from consistent exposure to blue light.

When asked, most people rank vision loss as one of the worst possible health outcomes, more than losing hearing, memory, speech, or a limb.1

It is not difficult to understand why because vision impairment and blindness are less about the physiological outcome (i.e. not being able to see) and more about the consequence of a disconnection from the world and the loss of independence that healthy vision provides.

Living in a blue world

The scientific consensus is that visible light is both necessary for vision and harmful due to excessive or prolonged exposure. Light-mediated damage plays a role in many common forms of blindness, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD).2

Photooxidation – the production of free radicals induced by exposure to radiant energy like light – is akin to the sunburn that results from ultraviolet light. Photooxidation from blue light is the most common form of damage that can occur in the retina.

Like UV light, sunlight continues to be the major contributor of blue light but the increasing reliance on digital devices has extended exposure into almost every facet of daily life. It is the daily exposure to blue light and the ensuing photooxidation which leads to small, imperceptible changes in retinal cells over a lifetime. These changes can manifest as age-related visual impairment. To mitigate the effects of blue light, the eyes have evolved to have mechanisms to help reduce the effects of blue light by incorporating filters that absorb high-energy wavelengths and reduce photooxidation.

Blue light at a glance

• unlike UV light, blue light penetrates deep in the eye, impacting retinal cells directly

• AMD risk increases about 38% with sunlight exposure2

• the average adult spends 10 hours per day on digital devices3

• short-term effects of blue light exposure from digital devices include eye strain and physical discomfort.

Promoting the essential nature of macular carotenoids in the “digital age” can be a new avenue to broaden their demand

Closing the gap

There continues to be a gap between consumer understanding and scientific consensus, especially among younger demographics. This is reflected in poor dietary intake of foods rich in macular carotenoids.4,5 The gap also provides a new opportunity, especially with the convergence of greater exposure to blue light from digital devices, for growing awareness/concern about the effects of blue light and the willingness of younger consumers, such as millennials, to choose supplementation to proactively manage their health.

Consumers are aware of the importance of supplementing with essential/conditionally essential nutrients as reflected in purchases. Vitamin/mineral supplements remain the most popular category among supplement users (98%) and 83% of consumers aged between 18 and 34 take a multivitamin.6

Consumers between the ages of 18 and 34 are devoting more of their purchasing power to supplements, with 70% reporting supplement use to “fill nutrient gaps in the diet”, for “more energy”, and for “overall health/wellness benefits”.5

Fish oil/essential fatty acids continue to be one of the most popular supplements among adults based in the US.7 Promoting the essential nature of macular carotenoids in the “digital age” can be a new avenue to broaden their demand among consumers already vested in supplement use.

Did you know?

In South Africa, on average, consumers spend more than 10 hours a day online.3 And yet, symptoms of digital eye strain occur in as little as two hours.9

Study findings open new market

There is a strong case for supplementation to compensate for lifestyle, dietary and biological factors, which together dictate a higher need to replenish macular carotenoids daily.

Consumers of all ages continue to be bombarded by blue light at every turn, if not from their digital devices, TV screens and LED lighting, then from sunlight, which continues to be the biggest source.

In 2017, the B.L.U.E. (or Blue Light User Exposure) study was published. It was the first to demonstrate a direct link between supplementation with all three macular carotenoids and their ability to protect against the effects of prolonged blue light exposure from digital devices.8 The findings of this study helped open a new market, allowing companies to tap into a new audience of consumers skewing a lot younger than previous target groups.

The B.L.U.E. study demonstrated that eye health can be a relevant and important concern for younger consumers looking for solutions to address a growing need to protect and preserve healthy vision from increasing blue light exposure, coupled with the desire to fill nutrient gaps and support overall wellbeing.

Macular carotenoids have rapidly grown in importance during the last couple of decades on the back of many studies showing protective and visual performance benefits. Now their essentiality for eye health and the growing concern of prolonged blue light exposure is providing new opportunities in younger consumers who spend most of their time on digital devices and are increasingly looking to supplements to proactively manage their health. •