AREDS supplements are the standard of conventional macular nutritional support. The problem is that they don't work. Overall, the conclusion is that they don't help at all with prevention in the early stages of Macular Degeneration. And they don't result in reversal of the degenerative processes. At best, they might slow the process of going blind for some people in the more advanced stages of vision loss. Over the many years of research with over a thousand subjects, virtually no progress has been made in the medical standard of care for this leading cause of 'irreversible' blindness in developed countries.

The underlying problem is that the whole foundation of Clinical Theory and Clinical Praxis is based on a population approach using statistical analysis which was developed for agricultural crops. It is called evidence-based medicine to disguise the fact that it is based on extrapolation of evidence about other people rather than evidence about you, the individual of concern.

AREDS 2 eye supplements don’t work well because they are based on cheap formulations backed by Big Pharma money. Like the one from EyePromise, they may be made with:

Cheap synthetic vitamins C & E.

Cheap inorganic mineral oxides of Zinc & Copper.

Carmine dye from insects, which isn’t vegetarian or kosher and contains allergenic bug proteins. As little as 1 mg can trigger anaphylactic shock.

Titanium dioxide, which causes autoimmune problems in animal studies and may promote cancer.

Gelatin which can harbor glyphosate.

Mixed carotenoids which compete with each other for absorption. 

Eye Health AREDS 2 formula from Naturelo tries to do better, upgrading to natural vitamins and organically bound minerals, including Selenium. They add Eyebright, and Omega 3 oils from Algae… but then they add Carrot Powder to their mixed carotenoids to which they added Lycopene and Astaxanthin. Those would all be fine taken at separate meals, but Beta carotene beats out all the other carotenoids for absorption when taken together.

Other eye supplements typically repeat many of these errors, and often contain Stearates which form a biofilm, blocking the absorption of nutrients in the supplement and in your diet. 

MacuGuard from Life Extension provides mixed carotenoids including an unspecified amount of Safranal from Saffron, the most expensive spice on Earth. It’s too bad they all have to compete for absorption with each other and also with Alpha-Carotene added to the formula. The formula does supply some C3G, a beneficial polyphenol. But it is encapsulated in gelatin, which may contain glyphosate.

An 86-year-old man with progressive vision loss, despite taking MacuGuard, was able to regain his driver's license after just 30 days in our program, including our Macular Wellness formulas. He did this WITHOUT having to leave home and without the use of drugs, surgery, or injections. 

Macular Support Formula from Pure Encapsulations includes Beta Carotene to compete with the Lutein, Zeaxanthin, and Lycopene in the formula. The formula includes Vitamin C (not specified as natural or synthetic), NAC, Glutathione, and polyphenols from bilberry and grape. The company is known for avoiding stearates, which is why we used to use some of their products before we started making our own Functional Formulations™.

Unfortunately, this company, along with many others in the nutrition field, has recently been bought out by big conglomerates like Nestle and Proctor & Gamble, so we will have to keep a close eye on their previous commitment to purity… and hope they don't follow the industry motto "Ink is cheap."

Targeted Choice Eye Care Macular & Blue formula by Bluebonnet Nutrition only pits Lutein against Zeaxanthin for carotenoid absorption, but then suppresses all nutrient absorption with Magnesium Stearate. They use natural vitamins, and my least favorite organic mineral form, Gluconates. They do add DHA (of unspecified source) and Hyaluronic Acid (of unspecified molecular weight), as well as a few types of blueberry and bilberry extract to deliver an unspecified dose of Polyphenols.

Macular Support from Genestra has Beta Carotene and Magnesium Stearate to suppress the absorption of Lutein and Zeaxanthin as well as other unspecified Mixed Carotenoids. The only other contents are a 4:1 concentrate of Bilberry providing an unspecified amount of polyphenols, as well as a standardized extract of Ginkgo, which provides a benefit of increased nutrient delivery to the eye tissues for any nutrients that get absorbed despite the Stearate biofilm.

Macular Vision from NOW supplies only Omega-3 oils from fish, and mixed carotenoids from Marigold. Unfortunately it is in a gelatin capsule, which is suspect of harboring glyphosate. It is also important to realize that many fish oil supplements are currently in litigation because the extensive processing required to remove heavy metals from oils high on the food chain results in alterations in the chemistry that impairs their ability to be utilized. That’s why we use whole algae oil as our Omega-3 source in our WholOmega. By sourcing from the base of the food chain, where the oils are originally produced, we can leave in the other beneficial components, such as the phytoceramides, which are another essential component of every cell membrane.

Dr. Mercola’s Eye Support formula supplies standardized bioflavonoids from Black Current in addition to a mix of carotenoids: Lutein, Zeaxanthin, and Astaxanthin. There is an unspecified quantity of natural Mixed Tocopherols (Vitamin E) in the “Other Ingredients” list, but also some Sucrose and Tapioca sugars and starches as filler, though no Stearates, to his credit. By the way, Dr. Mercola’s mentor, Lee Cowden, MD, invited me to teach the doctors he trains…

Another company dedicated to making clean products is Premier Research which makes OcuVen. It does contain carrot, so the Beta Carotene will reduce the absorption of the Lutein and Zeaxanthin, since it beats out the two macular carotenoids for uptake by the sole carotenoid absorption pathway… They also include some tomato as a source for a small and unspecified amount of Lycopene… Other herbs included in whole, unextracted, unconcentrated, unstandardized, and even unspecified quantities are prickly pear, spinach, chlorella, bilberry, and turmeric. The “Other ingredients” section includes pea protein (not enzymatically digested) and Vitamin E, listed as an unspecified form of Tocopherol.

In contrast, look at our Macular Wellness formulas, each with a different standardized carotenoid. No alpha or beta carotene, or other mixed carotenoids to compete, and no Stearates to form a biofilm on the nutrients and the gut lining to reduce absorption. In fact, we do the exact opposite: W promote increased bioavailability, absorption, and vascular delivery to the tissues by including our Fibonacci-inspired sequence of 7 Bioavailability factors: 

• Vinpocetine to stimulate circulatory delivery to the eyes and brain

• Piperine to stimulate increased circulation and absorption (found in the Trikatu formula in Ayurvedic medicine)

• Gingerol to stimulate increased circulation and absorption (also found in the Trikatu formula in Ayurvedic medicine)

• Licorice Omnipotent (included in about 80% of traditional Oriental medicine formulas to help the other botanicals synergize)

• Moringa (100:1 extract to concentrate the polyphenols that increase all nutrient absorption)

• Niacin to stimulate increased vascular perfusion for better eye, brain and body tissue delivery

• Ginkgo standardized extract to stimulate increased vascular perfusion for better eye, brain and body tissue delivery

As an example of the 23 other botanical and nutritional factors included in each Macular Wellness capsule, look at Ginseng. An unextracted, unconcentrated, unstandardized dose would normally fill the whole capsule with 500 mg of the raw herb powder. The digestive functions would be relied on to do the extraction of the active therapeutic components, in particular the Ginsenosides. Instead, we obtain the Ginsenosides concentrated to 80% so that the therapeutic dose only takes up 7 milligrams of the 500 mg capsule. That’s the only way we can pack so much healing into each capsule. Our thinking is that the goal is the clinical result, and that none of us want to swallow dozens of capsules when the benefits can be concentrated into one. By freeing ourselves from competing with cheaper products, we are able to focus on maximizing the healing benefits of every dose, and every ingredient.We include some key nutritional factors in each Macular Wellness capsule.

The B vitamins in the formula (Vitamins B3, B9, B12, B15, and B20) are in the active co-enzyme forms (both coenzyme forms of B12). We recognize that worldly governments only recognize B vitamins that are associated with acute deficiency diseases, but we acknowledge all of the B vitamins researchers have identified as important cofactors of the electron transport chain, so that includes B15 and B20, which you can learn more about at RemedyMatch.com and our other websites such as ClinicalTheory.com, as well as in our videos and courses. The Vitamin C is in the fat-soluble form that stays longer in the cell. Another coenzyme in the mix is Coenzyme Q10.

Magnesium, an essential cofactor for about 3,000 enzymes, is delivered as Taurate since the amino acid Taurine is powerful for healing the retina. This healing support is further emphasized in our Drusen Dissolve formulations.

Additional nutritional healers include NAC and Glutathione, which support Glutathione production, and S-Acetyl Glutathione which delivers pre-formed Glutathione to the intracellular space. Glutathione is deficient in all degenerative tissues… If additional support of this key to cellular protection and detoxification is needed, you can add our Glutathione Syntropy formulation.

We also include the patented form of stabilized, bio-enhanced R-Lipoate, which is about 40 times more effective than the typical Lipoic Acid form used in supplements.

PQQ is included to stimulate mitochondrial reproduction. If further emphasis on this rejuvenation of cellular energy metabolism is desired, you can add our Mitochondrial Biogenesis formulation.

Uniquely, we include a single standardized extract carotenoid which is different in each of the Macular Wellness formulas, so you can take one at a given meal, and absorb that one without competition. The range of carotenoids to support macular healing includes:

• Astaxanthin (protective agains ionizing radiation and blue light)

• Crocin (also found in Saffron, but more cost effective as a standardized extract from a Gardenia species)

• Lutein (stored in the central macula)

• Lycopene (the only carotenoid found deficient in the blood of those with AMD)

• Safranal (shown to improve visual acuity)

• Zeaxanthin/Meso-Zeaxanthin (stored in the peripheral macula)

The other ingredients we include are concentrated, purified, and documented concentrates of the key active ingredients of botanical medicines. We use the water-soluble form of Quercetin: Quercetin Dyhydrate, as it is about 8 times more effective than the common form.

Other polyphenols are included as standardized botanical bioflavonoid concentrates:

• Curcumin from turmeric supports increased Glutathione production,

• Green tea polyphenols,

• C3G from the Emperor’s forbidden black rice,

• OPCs from grape,

• Trans-Pterostilbene from the blueberry family, and

• Salvianolic Acid B from Salvia in the mint family.

An even broader spectrum of bioflavonoids can be found in our Vitamin P: Polyphenols formulation.

The potency, purity, and biological activity of all these ingredients are protected by our biophotonic glass bottles. When we find a way to make our formulations work even better, we do it.