Suplement boosts your eyes' 'internal sunglasses'
EyePromise, an eye-health nutritional supplement maker, claims its product can help golfers read greens better, track golf shots better and fight glare.
The company, which has worked with Major League Baseball and several touring pros, sells supplements containing lutein and zeaxanthin, two organic pigments called carotenoids that are believed to act as light filters to protect the macula, the light-receptor area in the retina at the back of the eye.
The company says its product helps the eye’s “internal sunglasses” to recover from glare and bright lights and to filter harmful light.
For golfers, the company claims that use of its supplement helps one’s eyes track golf balls against a bright sky, reduce glare on a sunny day, and see details on the golf course more clearly. including identifying the subtleties of breaks on a green.
Athletes who have endorsed EyePromise’s supplement include Ardmore’s Lee Hodges, Padraig Harrington and Colin Montgomery. Hodges, who wears contact lenses on the course, specifically uses EyePromise’s EZ Tears formulation to combat dry eyes.
The Golfzon Leadbetter Golf Academy has adopted EyePromise as its official vitamin supplement. Seattle Mariners infielder Tommy Stella has endorsed EyePromise, and the manufacturer has worked with the Boston Red Sox on eye health, its website says.
The science behind EyePromise products
Science supports the benefits of eating fruits and vegetables containing zeaxanthin and lutein – kale, collard greens, spinach, turnip greens and orange-colored peppers, especially paprika – in preserving eye health.
The problem is that western diets don’t contain sufficient amounts of the two chemicals, leading up to 80 percent of Americans to have insufficiently dense macular pigment.
While corn contains both lutein and zeaxanthin, you’d have to eat 50 ears of corn to get the recommended daily requirement, said Rhonda Soest, senior VP of marketing for EyePromise.
“Zeaxanthin is thought to function as a light filter, protecting the eye tissues from sunlight damage,” says the website webmd.com. The website says that lutein is considered by many as “the eye vitamin.”
EyePromise promotes the use of its zeaxanthin- and lutein-containing supplements in combating age-related macular degeneration, a condition in which the macula thins with age and central vision deteriorates.
The company also offers a line of products to gamers and others who spend a lot of time in front of a computer screen to combat eye strain.
The company’s line of products contains varying amounts of zeaxanthin and lutein, in the form of pills, gelcaps and gummies that cost between $22.95 and $129.95. EyePromise Vizual Edge Pro, a concentrated formulation marketed to professional athletes, costs $89.95 for a 30-day supply. Its Areds 2 Plus formulation for age-related eye health costs $44.95 for a 30-day supply.
EyePromise Holdings is based in Chesterfield, Mo., and has production facilities in California and New Jersey. It exhibited at this year’s PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando in January.
Dan Vukelich is the online editor of Alabama Golf News
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Featured image: Dan Vukelich
