ONS Reports Need to Education Americans about Nutrients and Eye Health

 The Ocular Nutrition Society (ONS) recently issued the following statement regarding the urgent need to educate Americans about the role of nutrition in supporting eye health.

Significant scientific evidence exists to support the role of certain nutrients, including zinc, vitamins C and E, lutein, zeaxanthin and long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, to help promote health in the aging eye. The displacement of nutrient-dense foods by processed foods in the Western, or American, diet is disconcerting, as is the lack of awareness of key nutrients and other modifiable risk factors that impact eye health. The lack of key diet-derived nutrients is a modifiable risk factor for protecting eye health, and eating a healthy diet rich in these nutrients is encouraged. With regard to dietary supplementation, many leading multivitamin and mineral supplements do not contain lutein, zeaxanthin or long-chain omega-3 fatty acids. Taking a supplement specifically designed for eye health that contains these key nutrients, in addition to a general nutritional supplement, may therefore be a better approach to filling dietary shortfalls. There is a need for guidelines that include nutritional recommendations and other lifestyle modifications to aid people in making better choices for protecting the health of their eyes as they age. As such, we support new efforts to develop such guidelines as well as subsequent educational initiatives designed to raise awareness of these recommendations among public and professional audiences.

The statement is the consensus of a multidisciplinary roundtable of experts recently convened by the ONS to explore the role of nutrition in eye health. Experts from the fields of ophthalmology, optometry, diet and nutrition, and primary care reviewed current data regarding nutrients that support the health of the aging eye and the results of a recent survey that examined U.S. baby boomer attitudes and awareness regarding eye health.