Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Vitamin C and eye disease:

Those individuals with a high intake of vitamin C have been shown in general, to have a decreased incidence of eye diseases (3).

The Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) and mortality:

This study also found that subjects with AMD had an increase in mortality risk. After following patients for 6.5 years, 11% or 534 participants had died. This marked an increased mortality risk among participants with advanced AMD. However, participants randomly assigned to receive 80 mg zinc with 2 mg cupric oxide, whether alone or combined with antioxidants, had lower mortality than those not taking the mineral. In these AMD patients, they reported a 27% lower relative risk of mortality for zinc alone, and a 12% lower relative risk for those who took zinc combined with beta-carotene, vitamin C and vitamin E. The beneficial effect of zinc on mortality was associated with less death from respiratory causes. (4)