Carotenoids, such as lutein and zeaxanthin, are beneficial antioxidants that can help protect your health and wellness. Carotenoids are responsible for the bright yellows, reds, greens and oranges we see in foods including yams, kale, spinach, watermelon, cantaloupe, bell peppers, tomatoes, carrots, mangoes and oranges.
Specifically, lutein and zeaxanthin are concentrated in the macula of our eyes. They have been shown to protect healthy cells in the eyes and therefore getting enough through diet or supplementation is important for eye health and vision performance throughout life.
In summary:
Benefits of lutein and zeaxanthin supplementation
1 in 10 US adults and only 1 in 11 US children eat the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables per day. And, since our bodies can not produce lutein and zeaxanthin, we MUST get it through our diets.
While there over 600 carotenoids found in nature, only lutein and zeaxanthin are found in the eye!
Learn More
Lutein for Every Age is a consumer education initiative, built to inspire and empower people to better understand how lutein and its lesser known carotenoid partner, zeaxanthin—two nutrients found in foods—can positively impact our eye and brain health throughout life. The campaign’s purpose is to showcase the science behind these powerful nutrients, make people aware of how low our intake of these nutrients typically is, and introduce creative ways to increase our consumption of these powerhouse nutrients no matter how old or young we are.
We further hope to raise awareness of the benefits of early and consistent lutein and zeaxanthin intake to maintain proper eye, brain, skin, and general health throughout a lifetime.
What foods contain Lutein and Zeaxanthin? How can you creatively incorporate these foods into your diet? Your children’s diet? Do you know where your macula is? Why it’s an important part of your eye?
OD, FAAO, Dipl ABO
Dr. Joseph J. Allen graduated Magna Cum Laude and Salutatorian from the Rosenburg School of Optometry in 2015 and completed his residency at the Minneapolis V.A. Medical
Dr. Allen is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and a Diplomate of the American Board of Optometry. He is a member of the American Optometric Association, the AOA Strategic Communications Committee, and he completed the AOA leadership training in 2022. He was also awarded the Media Advocacy award from the AOA in 2021.
Dr. Allen is a practicing optometrist in Minnesota and the founder of Doctor Eye Health, an educational YouTube channel with more than 860K subscribers. There he provides information about eye health, ocular disease and vision products. His videos cover a range of topics that his subscribers frequently ask about: eye floaters, glaucoma, dry eye syndrome, contact lenses, eyeglasses, and more.
Dr. Allen has been featured in Ask Men and Oprah Daily and in his free time, he enjoys rock climbing, running, cooking, playing video games, hiking, and biking.
RD, CDN, Founder, President, Lead Instructor
Keri Glassman is a Registered Dietitian, renowned nutritionist, healthy cooking expert and wellness thought-leader.
She is the founder of Nutritious Life, a lifestyle and media company devoted to helping individuals discover and live their most nutritious and happiest lives and the Nutritious Life Studio, (NLS) which provides cutting-edge nutrition, coaching, and business education to passionate students around the globe.
Her approach to providing accessible, science-backed healthy living advice that extends beyond food and diet —to areas like sleep, stress, and exercise—steers millions of people towards well-rounded wellness strategies that work for them.
As a trusted, forward-thinking, renowned healthy living expert and the author of four best-selling books, Keri is a prolific contributor and commentator for countless top media outlets.
On a weekly basis, you might catch her on The Today Show talking about protein-rich snacks, on The Doctors explaining sugar cravings, on The Rachael Ray Show sharing recipes, or in the pages of Women’s Health answering readers’ most pressing wellness questions.