Lutein Is A Nutrient Worth Learning About

Published on: July 30, 2001

by Amy Chen

Lutein is being touted as one of the latest magical nutrients in popular nutrition. But this time, there is science to back up the claim!

Vitamin formulas are now including lutein as another reason to buy their product. Ads on television and in magazines are selling mega doses of lutein in expensive supplements all over the world. Claims to restore vision, prevent cancer, and enhance vitality abound. Is there substantial evidence to these claims, or is this another marketing ploy designed to cash in on our increasing hunger for magic pills that will let us live forever? We at Supermarketguru.com investigated.

Turns out, lutein has been studied by nutritional scientists for several years. Lutein is one of the 600 known carotenoids, like beta-carotene and lycopene. It has been documented to prevent eye diseases such as cataracts and macular degeneration, colon cancer, and now prostate cancer. Researchers from the University of California at Los Angeles found lutein to be more effective at reducing prostate cancer cell growth than lycopene. Lycopene, found in processed and cooked tomato products and watermelon, has been associated with a decreased risk of prostate cancer. Whereas lab tests show a 20 percent reduction in prostate cancer cell growth with lycopene, lutein reduced cell growth by 25 percent. But don't ditch the tomato sauce yet: lutein and lycopene combined reduce cell growth by 32 percent.

There are many ways that lutein may benefit our health. Lutein is an antioxidant, which means lutein could quench the cell damaging free radicals. Lutein may boost the immune system, which could help prevent the expression of cellular mutation. Lutein itself may prevent normal cells from mutating into cancerous cells, and possibly help induce the death of tumor cells. And having lutein in your system may help prevent oxidation of low-density lipoprotein (i.e. bad cholesterol) in artery walls leading to arte riosclerosis.

Most of the studies with lutein on cancer cells were done in different doses on isolated cells and animals on controlled diets. There is evidence that people who eat a lot of green leafy vegetables have a lower incidence of eye diseases and cancers than individuals who do not, but as of yet, there is not enough evidence that humans taking lutein will reverse eye damage or cancer. Although there is no evidence yet for lutein toxicity from mega doses, the safest and most natural way to protect our health is to eat a diet high in lutein-rich foods right now. We still don't know if lutein is the only nutrient in these foods that is doing the job. New nutrients are being discovered in foods all the time, and nutritionists recommend eating the whole food and not just a single nutrient to ensure that we're getting all the goodies.

Seems like lutein has a lot of sound evidence to back it up. But how much lutein do we need? That's the question, and unfortunately there is no answer. As you know, nutrition needs differ from person to person based on their individual make-up (such as gender, age, size, etc.) and as of now the daily reference intake (DRI) for lutein from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has not yet been quantified. The important rule to follow is to not mega dose and check with your physician, nutritionist or pharmacist for the proper dosage.

And it's an inconvenience that you had better get comfortable with, as new nutrients are discovered over the next several years, expect them to come to market before the USDA is able to publish the DRIs.

Eating at least five to nine servings of colorful produce daily will help keep our bodies running in top condition. One of the best tools the consumer has is visual. Generally, the fruits and vegetables that have the deepest, richest colors are the ones that are most rich in healthy nutrients. Choose brilliantly colored fruits and vegetables that span the spectrum to get the vast array of nutrients. Besides preventing cancer, fruits and vegetables can help lower cholesterol and cardiovascular disease, reduce cell damage that can lead to disease, help eliminate toxins from our bodies, and help us lose weight. Lutein is found in greatest amounts in dark green leafy vegetables such as collard, mustard, and turnip greens, spinach, broccoli, and parsley. In fruits, avocados are the greatest source of lutein.

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