Nutrients for the aging eye

Figures & data

Table 1 Nutrient content of the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) formulation

Nutrient	Daily dosage	% daily value
Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)	452 mg	754
Vitamin E (dl-α-tocopheryl acetate)	400 IU	1334
Zinc (zinc oxide)	69.6 mg	464
Copper (cupric oxide)	1.6 mg	80
Vitamin A (β-carotene)	28,640 IU (17 mg)	572

Table 2 Intake in men (n = 1178) and women (n = 1215) over 50 years of age (mg) based on NHANES 2009–10

	Sex	RDA	Recommendation for decreased disease risk	Mean ± SEM	Weighted percentiles
					P1	P5	P10	P25	P50	P75	P90	P95	P99
Vitamin C, mg/day	Men	90	–	93.1 ± 2.2	4.5	12.0	21.2	38.0	72.9	126.1	196.3	247.4	322.7
	Women	75	–	88.4 ± 1.9	5.0	13.9	21.8	39.5	75.2	122.5	168.6	200.1	293.2
Vitamin E (as α-tocopherol), mg/day	Men	15	–	8.6 ± 0.2	1.6	3.3	3.8	5.4	7.5	10.3	14.5	17.8	30.5
	Women	15	–	7.3 ± 0.1	1.7	2.5	3.3	4.4	6.3	8.8	12.3	15.2	22.8
β-carotene, mg/day	Men	–	3–6 mg*	2.6 ± 0.1	0.1	0.2	0.3	0.6	1.4	3.1	6.2	9.0	14.8
	Women	–	3–6 mg*	2.7 ± 0.1	0.1	0.2	0.3	0.7	1.7	3.8	6.3	8.9	12.9
Zinc, mg/day	Men	11	–	13.5 ± 0.2	4.2	5.7	6.7	8.8	12.3	16.5	22.4	25.8	37.5
	Women	8	–	9.8 ± 0.1	2.9	4.3	5.1	6.9	8.8	11.6	15.4	18.6	25.1
Lutein/zeaxanthin, mg/day	Men	–	6 mg**	1.2 ± 0.1	0.1	0.2	0.3	0.6	1.0	1.8	2.9	4.9	13.5
	Women	–	6 mg**	1.8 ± 0.1	0.1	0.2	0.3	0.6	1.0	2.1	4.0	6.6	11.8
EPA + DHA, mg/day	Men	–	250–1000***	120.6 ± 6.1	1.5	5.0	9.0	19.5	47.5	126.5	278.0	471.5	1027.5
	Women	–	250–1000***	13.5 ± 0.2	4.2	5.7	6.7	8.8	12.3	16.5	22.4	25.8	37.5

Notes: Values in bold indicate values less than RDA or recommendation based on current knowledge of relationships between intakes and risk of disease.

* Recommendation based on Panel on Dietary Antioxidants and Related Compounds, Subcommittee on Upper Reference Levels of Nutrients, Subcommittee on Interpretation and Uses of DRIs, Standing Committee on the Scientific Evaluation of Dietary Reference Intakes;⁹

** recommendation based on Seddon et al;²⁶

*** recommendation based on Kris-Etherton et al.³³

Abbreviations: NHANES, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; RDA, recommended dietary allowance; SEM, standard error of mean; EPA, eicosapentaenoic acid; DHA, docosahexaenoic acid; DRI, dietary reference intake.

Table 3 Vitamin C content of foods^43,*

Food	Serving	Milligrams
Blackberries	1/2 cup (72 g)	15
Blueberries	1/2 cup (74 g)	7
Broccoli, raw	1/2 cup (44 g)	39
Brussels sprouts, cooked	1/2 cup (78 g)	48
Cabbage, raw, chopped	1/2 cup (45 g)	16
Cantaloupe	1/2 medium (69 g)	25
Cauliflower, cooked	1/2 cup (62 g)	28
Grapefruit, raw, pink	1/2 medium (128 g)	44
Grapefruit juice	1 cup (247 g)	94
Green peppers, raw	1/2 cup (46 g)	37
Orange	1 medium (141 g)	63
Orange juice	1 cup (248 g)	124
Papaya	1 small (157 g)	96
Potato, boiled with peel	2 1/2″ diameter (136 g)	18
Spinach, raw, chopped	1 cup (38 g)	11
Strawberries, raw, sliced	1/2 cup (83 g)	49
Tomato, raw	1 medium (123 g)	17
Tomato juice	1 cup (240 g)	22
Turnip greens, cooked	1/2 cup (72 g)	20

Note:

* Edible portion.

Table 4 Vitamin E content of foods^43,*

Food	Serving	Milligrams (α-tocopherol equivalents)
Almonds, slivered	1/4 cup (27 g)	7
Corn oil	1 tb (14 g)	2
Peanuts	1/4 cup (37 g)	3
Peanut butter, smooth	2 tb (32 g)	3
Sunflower seeds	1/4 cup (35 g)	12
Safflower oil	1 tb (14 g)	5
Soybean oil	1 tb (14 g)	1
Wheat-germ oil	1 tb (14 g)	20

Note:

* Edible portion.

Abbreviation: tb, tablespoon.

Table 5 β-Carotene content of foods^44,*

Food	Serving	Milligrams
Apricots, raw	1 medium (35 g)	0.9
Broccoli, cooked	1/2 cup (78 g)	0.8
Cantaloupe, raw	1/2 cup (78 g)	1.2
Carrots, raw	1 medium (61 g)	5.3
Carrots, cooked	1/2 cup (78 g)	6.3
Kale, cooked	1/2 cup (65 g)	3.7
Lettuce, romaine	1/2 cup (38 g)	0.5
Pepper, red, sweet	1 medium (119 g)	2.9
Pumpkin, cooked	1/2 cup (123 g)	8.5
Spinach, cooked	1/2 cup (95 g)	5.0
Spinach, raw	1 cup (38 g)	2.1
Sweet potato, cooked	1/2 cup (164 g)	15.5
Winter squash, cooked	1/2 cup (85 g)	3.9

Note:

* Edible portion.

Table 6 Zinc content of foods⁴³

Food	Serving	Milligrams
Almonds, dry roasted	1 ounce (28 g)	0.9
Beans, baked	1/2 cup (127 g)	0.9
Beef, cooked	3 ounces (85 g)	1.0
Cashews	1 ounce (28 g)	1.6
Cereal, cooked, multigrain	1 cup (100 g)	0.6
Cheese, cheddar	1 ounce (28 g)	0.9
Chicken (dark meat, cooked)	3 ounces (85 g)	1.8
Chickpeas (garbanzo beans)	1/2 cup (82 g)	1.3
Corn flakes	1 cup (28 g)	0.3
Crab, dungeness, cooked	3 ounces (85 g)	4.7
Milk	1 cup (244 g)	1.2
Oysters, cooked	3 medium (75 g)	24.9
Peanuts	1 ounce (28 g)	0.9
Pork, cooked	3 ounces (85 g)	2.2
Turkey (dark meat, cooked)	3 ounces (85 g)	3.8
Yogurt, fruit	1 cup (227 g)	1.8

Table 7 Lutein/zeaxanthin content of foods^44,*

Food	Serving	Milligrams
Broccoli, cooked	1/2 cup (78 g)	1.7
Brussels sprouts, cooked	1/2 cup (78 g)	1.0
Corn, sweet, cooked	1/2 cup (75 g)	1.4
Kale, cooked	1/2 cup (65 g)	10.3
Lettuce, raw, romaine	1/2 cup (38 g)	1.1
Peas, green, cooked	1/2 cup (80 g)	1.1
Spinach, cooked	1/2 cup (95 g)	6.7
Spinach, raw	1/2 cup (38 g)	4.5

Note:

* Edible portion.

Table 8 EPA + DHA content in fish³³

Fish	EPA + DHA, g/3 oz (85 g) serving (edible portion)
Trout
Farmed	0.15
Wild	0.20
Crab, Alaskan king	0.35
Flounder/sole	0.42
Haddock	0.20
Halibut	0.40–1.00
Herring
Atlantic	1.71
Pacific	1.81
Mackerel	0.34–1.57
Salmon
Atlantic, farmed	1.09–1.83
Atlantic, wild	0.90–1.56
Chinook	1.48
Sockeye	0.68
Sardines	0.98–1.70
Shrimp, mixed species	0.27
Tuna
Fresh	0.24–1.28
White, canned in water, drained	0.73

Abbreviations: EPA, eicosapentaenoic acid; DHA, docosahexaenoic acid.

Figure 1 M’eyeDiet: an educational tool on nutrition and eye health.

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