Spinach

logixoul

Spinach helps my eyestrain tremedously. I eat 56 g (my "serving size") of it every morning. It's very convenient if you buy it frozen (in lumps of 28 g each, in my case).

I'm trying to figure out why it helps me so much. Main possible reasons are:

lutein & zeaxanthin (about 6mg in my serving size)
vitamin A (30% of the RDA in my serving size. Look for "Vitamin A, RAE" in the table. The "Vitamin A, IU" thing is an outdated and confusing measurement)

I'm planning to look for a supplement that includes these 3 things in a larger dose. Lutein & zeaxanthin don't have a "tolerable upper limit" set; vitamin A does.

Vitamin A has two main forms - "preformed vitamin A" and "provitamin A". The former is damaging if taken in large amounts. The latter is pretty harmless. I'm gonna research which of the two kinds is in spinach, and what kind of "provitamin A" should I look for in a supplement - beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, etc.

logixoul

Ordered this supplement:

https://naturalfactors.com/en-us/product/lutein-20-mg/

seeker_of_no_light

as far as I know the only way to consume Vitamin A is if you are eating liver or intake synthesized vitamin A as a supplement. Vegetables and fruits can only have provitamin A, therefore it's generally safe to eat more of it (In the case of spinach however, too much consumption of it can benefit the creation of kidney stones due to its rather high amount of oxalic acid).

As higher consumption of provitamin A is safe since your body only turns as much of it into vitamin A as necessary, you have to intake more provitamin A than if you intook vitamin A. However as provitamin A is fat-soluble, the bioavailability of provitamin A can be increased if you intake it within a two hour time frame of eating a fatty meal. When I have the time, I can look up and post the studies of what I just said here.

logixoul

seeker_of_no_light Thank you for the intelligent and helpful response! Links to studies would be great, but not strictly required of course 🙂 🙂

ensete

I have tried lutein suppliments, as well as several "eye care" and "anti blue light" suppliments. Complete snake oil for me.

seeker_of_no_light

ensete if it's marketed as "anti blue light" or similar, then I would also classify it as snake oil, as supplementation of the various carotinoids won't magically cure or protect you from exposure to environmental factors detrimental to your eyes. With that being said, vitamin A is still essential for eye health, but I also think supplements are not necessarily required as long as your diet is rich in carotinoids. For example, a glass of carrot juice a day will already cover your daily required dose.

ryans

Worth noting that long-time member @Gurm has found some success with Lutein.

It didn't help me, but it's not an expensive supplement so probably worth a shot. I hope it helps you, especially if spinach does.

logixoul

Tried these two supplements:

https://naturalfactors.com/en-us/product/lutein-20-mg/

https://www.doppelherz.bg/produkti/dopelkhercr-aktiv-vitamini-za-ochi-omega-3/ (you can use google translate)

Gave each of them 1 day of testing. They did not help at all.

Spinach gives me relief in about 1-2 hours after eating, which is why expected the same from the above supplements.

Considering the quickness of spinach's action, my new theory is that spinach's benefit (for me) is the electrolytes (magnesium, potassium) and/or antioxidants (zinc, vitamin E) in it.

AGI

Glad it is working for you. I have been eating a lot of spinach, without knowing my eyes may benefit, and the progress with my eystrain is still so frustratingly slow and inconsistent…My eyes have just gone crazy after some updates were passed through on my laptop, and I get strong eyestrain, dizziness and neckpain anytime I enter our new laboratory with giant, super-bright LED lamps located at a ridiculously low height (I feel like a laboratory mouse).

I will try to eat more spinach, but I confess that I have almost lost my hope. I am at the mercy of software updates and lamps, no matter what I eat or what eye exercises I do.

cizeta

I have found that organ meats such as liver can sometimes help for similar nutrition reasons, particularly Vitamin A