The Support Your Eyes Need: Lutein+

As our digital world evolves and our exposure to screens (blue light) increases, we need to care more for our eye health now than ever before. If you read nothing further than this paragraph, Lutein+ is composed of the patented, naturally sourced (from marigolds) FloraGLO® Lutein that has been clinically studied and proven in over 100 human trials. It was the first lutein brand introduced in the global marketplace and is clinically proven safe for infant nutrition. Outside of creating an internal protection barrier to absorb short-wave blue light, Lutein has been proven to improve visual performance and quality of vision, maternal and infant health, skin health, sleep, headache reduction, cognitive response and performance in children, and more!

In short, outside of the other benefits, if you or your kids are looking at a screen (you are, as you are reading this), you need to supplement with Lutein. We have visited the corporate office and their research greenhouses and spent countless days with the Kemin team, as they are right in our backyard in Des Moines, Iowa.

Product Breakdown:

Our gummies are all-natural and free of artificial sugars, colors, and flavors. As always, we formulate and create products with our children in mind. As they are the most important beings in the world to us, we refuse to give them anything but the best — which is why we create the best.

• Ingredients
• FloraGLO® Lutein and Zeaxanthin
• Lutein and its isomer zeaxanthin are non-provitamin A carotenoids commonly found in the human diet. Dietary-rich sources of lutein are dark green leafy vegetables like spinach, broccoli, and kale. Lutein and zeaxanthin can also be found in egg yolk, corn, and orange pepper.
• Once in the body, Lutein and zeaxanthin are found in major organs due to their distribution via the bloodstream. Compared to other carotenoids, dietary lutein and zeaxanthin have been found to have preferential deposition in the eye (where they compose the macular pigment), brain, and breast milk.
• Our Lutein is derived from carefully bred, researched, and hand-harvested marigolds to produce the highest amounts of Lutein and zeaxanthin.

Product Benefits:

• Anyone Who Looks at a Screen
• Lutein and zeaxanthin isomers — known as macular carotenoids — are natural filters of high-energy blue light. 
• Reducing your absorption of blue light will help:
• Effectively regulate our sleep-wake cycle and indirectly support mental health
• Promote healthier sleep patterns and overall well-being
• Improve hormone regulation and alertness
• Reduce headaches 
• Improve focus
• Decrease eye strain and eye damage 
• Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women
• No other lutein brand worldwide has more scientific publications supporting its use. FloraGLO® Lutein has 15 publications covering pregnancy, breastfeeding, and preterm or term infants. Unlike some forms of Lutein on the market, FloraGLO® Lutein provides the same readily absorbed Lutein as everyday foods like spinach and kale.
• Lutein and zeaxanthin are transferred from pregnant mom to the baby and deposited in specific areas of the fetal body. Lutein and zeaxanthin are present in the developing fetus' retina at 17 to 22 weeks. The presence of these nutrients at early stages of life, along with their higher concentration compared to other carotenoids, suggests they play a role in eye and brain development and protection. When maternal diet is an insufficient source, the case can be made for adding these important carotenoids in prenatal supplementation.
• After the baby is born, Lutein and zeaxanthin continue to be important major carotenoids in breast milk. Lutein and zeaxanthin are preferentially secreted in breast milk, and their levels are proportional to maternal intake. Furthermore, the relative level of carotenoids in infants' plasma has been found to match the level in breast milk. When diet falls short, supplementation for the breastfeeding mother may be a valuable option.
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33888136/
•  Infants
• In addition to being found in the retina, Lutein represents a majority of the infant brain's carotenoids. When comparing the contribution of Lutein and zeaxanthin in the infant diet (17% of carotenoids) compared to the level in the infant brain (74% of carotenoids),22 it is clear these nutrients are preferentially deposited.
• Higher maternal Lutein and zeaxanthin plasma concentrations at delivery were associated with a lower likelihood of poor distance-visual insight later in the child's life.
• The presence of Lutein and zeaxanthin in the macula during the early stage of life is essential, considering that children are particularly susceptible to the potentially damaging effects of excessive light exposure (solar light or artificial LED light) due to their eye immaturity and the complete transparency of the ocular lens to light.
• Formula for Infants
• FloraGLO® Lutein sets the standard for supplemental Lutein regarding efficacy, safety, and credibility. FloraGLO® Lutein is the only brand that is Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) in the US for use in term and pre-term infant formula.
• School-Aged Kids (study by Dr Khan)
• Lutein and zeaxanthin levels in the eye, as measured by Macular Pigment Optical Density (MPOD), are significantly correlated with levels in the brain.
• MPOD is related to measures of cognitive control and relational memory among school-aged children.
• Children with greater MPOD have also been shown to have higher performance on academic achievement tests.
• The results revealed that children with higher MPOD exhibited fewer errors while reconstructing previously studied spatial layouts of items, indicating that MPOD was related to greater relational memory performance. The discovery that children's MPOD was related to hippocampal performance is vital because relational memory supports constructing a flexible knowledge base critical for children's academic success.

What Sets Ours Apart:

• FloraGlo Lutein:
• Trusted Brand: over 20 years of proven safety
• The Most Studied: proven in over 100 human clinical trials
• Safe for Babies: clinically proven safe for use in infant nutrition
• The Blue Light Brand: patent support showing how Lutein filters blue light
• Excellent Stability and Proven Bioavailability: 126% increase in plasma lutein at 14 hours
• Breeding Program
• Kemin has a world-class marigold breeding program (which Josh and I have been lucky enough to tour in person as they are in Des Moines).
• They develop new hybrids every year using non-GMO practices to increase the viability of the natural resource. Their flowers are patented and produce higher amounts of Lutein and zeaxanthin.
• Sustainability
• The marigolds from which the Lutein and zeaxanthin are sourced are grown in India, employing over 18,000 families spanning over 15,000 acres.
• Growing the flowers in India means the supply is resilient against climate change, which secures financial income for families that harvest the flowers by hand.
• Eye Testing on Sight
• Josh and I had our lutein levels tested almost six months ago and will be getting them rechecked in the coming months. 

Supply Side West Presentation Breakdown:

• We were fortunate to fly out to Vegas with the Kemin team for Supply Side West last October. During the flight, we could chat about Lutein, its benefits, its history, etc. While in Vegas at the show, Josh and I were invited to the three-hour presentation on Lutein, which included several keynote speakers who are doing clinical trials on the ingredient
• Dr. Khan studies how eating the proper nutrients is essential for kids' cognition and school performance. Studies from Dr. Khan's lab have shown that kids with more Lutein and zeaxanthin in their eyes do better in school.
• Dr. Khan believes that Lutein might be good for the brain throughout life. To test this, he conducted a pilot study with 7 - 9 year olds. Some kids got FloraGLO Lutein and DHA daily for 9 months, while others got a placebo. The kids who got FloraGLO lutein and DHA did better on cognitive tests, and their eyes showed more Lutein. This is the first study to show that Lutein can change how well kids think and the amount of Lutein in their eyes.
• Dr. Cheatham's recent research examined the association between Lutein, choline, and DHA levels in human milk and cognitive performance in six-month-old infants. The study's data showed that infants exposed to higher Lutein and higher choline levels displayed better recognition memory together.
• Dr. Cheatham explains that nutrition is integral to brain development in infants. Nutrient combinations found in whole foods are some of the best out there. When looking at the combination of DHA, Lutein, and Choline, these nutrients work in synergy to support critical cognitive development. Not only is it essential to look at early life nutrition, but the teen years should also receive a lot of attention since that is when the brain goes through structure changes and reorganization. Looking forward, Dr. Cheatham would like research to further elaborate on the needs of the infant brain and work to determine the underpinnings of individual nutrition requirements.
• The recently published NIH-funded study known as The Lutein and Zeaxanthin in Pregnancy (L-ZIP) trial investigated the systematic and ocular effects of prenatal lutein/zeaxanthin supplementation on maternal and infant carotenoid status and infant foveal development. This study showed that mothers who received prenatal FloraGLO® Lutein & OPTISHARP® Natural Zeaxanthin supplementation showed significant increases in serum, skin, and macular carotenoid levels. Infants whose mothers had received prenatal carotenoid supplementation showed increases in serum lutein/zeaxanthin levels, cord blood carotenoid concentration, and skin carotenoid levels, along with increased trends in MPOD and mature foveal parameters.

Video Resources:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqkJ-JYWufw – This video discusses the science behind our FloraGLO lutein with our VP of Specialty Crop Improvement, Dr. John Greaves, explaining Kemin's approach to growing and researching marigolds.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngC7TCgJMbQ—This video is part one of an interview with Fred Khachik, a Research Fellow at Kemin, who was truly the inventor of Lutein. He speaks about his research on Lutein and how it came to be where it is today.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXL3bubhpK8—This video is part two of the interview with Fred Khachik, which examines where lutein research is headed.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPZSk40g490—This video examines the impact our FloraGLO lutein operation has on family farmers. It is a great video to showcase our product's human sustainability.

If any further case studies are needed, please leave a comment below, and we can either email you the research or provide a link!

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