Eye health may be improved by taking certain antioxidant supplements, according to researchers at Austria’s Medical University of Vienna. They studied 40 healthy volunteers between the ages of 18 and 30 split into two groups, giving a control group a placebo pill and the other a supplement containing vitamins C and E, lutein, zeaxanthin, zinc, copper, selenium, gingko biloba, flavonoids, omega-3 fatty acids and alpha-lipoic acid.

The medical scientists tested the health and blood flow of the retinal artery, which feeds the eye with blood and nutrients. The results of the two-week trial showed the supplements significantly improved blood flow through the retinal arteries. The supplements also helped protect the retinal arteries from free radical damage.

The scientists concluded that such supplementation can prevent a type of cellular dysfunction in the eye induced by oxidative stress that is assumed to play a role in age-related macular degeneration.