What is Lutein and why you need it.
We also discuss natural food sources of Lutein.
Lutein is a carotenoid that is abundant in natural environment and plays a vital role in the plant and animal worlds.
It's an important part of the chloroplast, since it helps with light gathering during photosynthesis as well as photo-protection if there is too much light.
Lutein is present in a range of human tissues, but it is particularly prevalent in the retina's macular area, where it has been thought to defend against damaging blue light, oxidative harm, and visual deterioration.
The retina, the rear of our eyeball, is essentially ‘an expansion of’ your central nervous system, i.e., a brain bulging out during growth, and there's a point exactly in the centre. That area is known as the macula, and it's densely packed with lutein.
Now turns out, you can look into someone’s eyes, and get an estimate of the lutine levels in their brain!
In a 2017 study, researchers looked at the relationship between blood lutein and cognitive function of people aged 50 and up from.
Higher blood levels of lutein were linked to superior average values in the categories of general intelligence, memory, and executive functioning, according to the researchers.
A noticeable effect of ageing tends to be the loss of certain components of cognitive control, which begins young, like mid-adulthood, but does not affect everyone. This shows that some of the discrepancies might be due to dietary factors.
The study found that young adults do better than senior folks on a test of cognitive control. However, elderly persons with rich macular pigment, or lutein at the rear of their eyes, do far better. These findings show how carotenoids like lutein may have a preventive effect in the brain between early and middle adulthood, decades before more obvious cognitive deterioration later in life.
Actionable tip of the day.
One point to remember is that consuming more carotenoids in your diet is linked to a decreased risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Lutein is particularly found largely in dark green, leafy vegetables.
Although the avocado and egg businesses brag about how much of these macular pigments are in their goods, dark green leafy vegetables are the actual winners. Half a cup of kale contains 50 times the amount of lutein pigments as a 50-egg omelette. As a result, raising your intake of foods high in carotenoids, such as dark green leafy vegetables like kale, may lower your chance of getting AMD.
Keep an eye out for the upcoming newsletter, in which I'll share some of my favourite Kale recipes.
Trust this helps,