Is "shrimp lycopene" better than "lutein" in eye protection?

In the 3C era, the high dependence on light and the long-term use of "near" vision have led to more and more civilized diseases of low-headed people. Excessive exposure to 3C products may not only cause problems such as eye acidity and fatigue, but also damage the cells in the macula and retina of the eye, causing blurred vision, image distortion, decreased visual quality and other diseases, seriously affecting vision. Don't be careless!

Most people have the concept of "supplementing lutein to protect eyes". However, recently, the saying that "shrimp lycopene has stronger eye protection ability than lutein" has emerged in large numbers. So what should we eat? How to supplement nutrition from daily diet to help protect eyes, in order to achieve the best protection?

Both lutein and astaxanthin are strong antioxidants, which can prevent oxidative damage caused by free radicals, and the antioxidant capacity of astaxanthin is about 5- 10 times that of lutein, so the photoantioxidant effect of astaxanthin is indeed stronger for the light-proof part. However, it should be noted that although lutein and astaxanthin overlap in light protection function, they are still very different in eye protection effect and action range, so astaxanthin cannot replace lutein.

First of all, let me talk about lutein, which is a carotenoid existing in natural plants and an important substance that constitutes the retina and macula. Mainly aimed at the overexposed macula, it has the functions of inhibiting light, increasing contrast sensitivity and visual quality, and also plays an important auxiliary role in nervous system conduction.

Lutein not only has antioxidant effect on macula, but more importantly, its yellow color can neutralize blue light, and it is also a natural physiological component of macula, which shrimp can't do. In addition, lutein can also improve vision, prevent glare, prevent photophobia, enhance and accelerate the transmission of nerve impulses, and stabilize fatty substances in the brain, that is, lutein can stabilize the nervous system and enhance the transmission of nerve impulses.

Effect of shrimp lycopene on eyes: shrimp lycopene is also a member of carotenoid family. Like lutein, it belongs to fat-soluble pigment and exists in marine organisms such as shrimp, crab, salmon and algae. In addition to the strong photooxidation effect on macula, shrimp lycopene can also improve the ability of eyeball ciliary muscle and repair fatigue. Imagine that shrimp can survive in the extremely cold ocean, and salmon can swim upstream, showing excellent activity, which is related to the full use of oxygen by muscles, and the role of muscles is to be controlled by blood flow to support nerves.

It can be seen that shrimp lycopene is related to muscles and blood vessels in eye protection, so it has the ability to relax ciliary muscles, improve 3C focusing regulation and promote the increase of choroidal blood flow. Therefore, for 3C people who use their eyes too much to cause ciliary muscle stiffness, shrimp lycopene can be said to be a first-aid holy product.

Finally, if you want to protect the macula of your eyes, lutein is the best choice in the choice of nutrients! Although shrimp lycopene has strong antioxidant capacity and can cross the blood-retina barrier (BRB), it still cannot replace lutein.

Astaxanthin supplementation is only suitable for emergency treatment when light damage is serious, and also helps to relax and concentrate ciliary muscles. However, astaxanthin can't settle in the macula under the function of assisting lutein to resist light, so it can't be used as a nutritional supplement for maintenance and should be positioned as an "auxiliary medicine" for treatment.

& lt This column reflects experts' opinions and does not represent our position >