How Eye Vitamins Work
Vitamins are something most of us take every day, yet as with cell phones, televisions, and computers, few of us know how they work. We simply down that pill with a glass of water and hope for the best, perhaps picturing little molecules of goodness floating around in our tummies. But since a daily supplement is vital for our health, both overall and specifically for our eyesight, we here at Rebuild Your Vision thought we’d take a little time to explain how vitamins do their magic.
What are vitamins?
Vitamins are a lot like a crew of housekeepers, landscapers and handymen rolled into one. They are carbon-based molecular compounds that our bodies can’t produce, but that we need to survive. Because your body has no way to create vitamin molecules itself, you must get your vitamins from food and/or supplements. And since most of us lead busy lives, it’s hard to maintain the kind of balanced diet that ensures we get all the nutrients we need. The human body is known to need at least 13 different vitamins: vitamin A, B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B4 (folic acid), B6 (pyridoxine), B7 (niacin), B12 (cyanocobalimin), biotin, pantothenic acid, C, D, E and K.
Think of it this way. You may not know how to maintain your furnace, but you need it to keep warm, so you call in an expert; you can’t fix the leak in your sink, so you phone a plumber – those are your vitamins. The money you’ve earned to pay for those experts—that’s the carbohydrates, fats and proteins (the energy) you get from the food you eat.
Then there are minerals, such as phosphorus, iron and zinc. Just as with vitamins, the body cannot make minerals: they come from the earth or from water, where they are absorbed by plants, and we, in turn, absorb them through the food we eat. Minerals make up about 4 to 5 percent of the body’s total weight (for example, a 150-pound woman has at least 7 pounds of minerals in her body).
Although that amount may seem small, minerals play an important role in your body’s different functions, as they have two distinct roles: regulating and building. Without a thermostat, your furnace would be useless; without minerals, your heart wouldn’t beat, your blood wouldn’t clot, your nerves wouldn’t respond. Without a solid foundation and walls and beams, your house would collapse; without minerals such as calcium, your bones would not be strong enough to support you. Over 17 minerals are known to be needed by the body—some in relatively large amounts, such as calcium and phosphorus; others in small amounts, like iron and zinc.
Inside your body, vitamins and minerals are used in many unique ways. For example, one of vitamin A’s main roles is in the production of retinal. Retinal is used within the rods and cones in your eyes to sense light. There is no way for your body to produce retinal without vitamin A, and without retinal you cannot see.
Why do you need to take vitamins every day?
Vitamins come in two types: fat-soluble and water-soluble. When you eat foods that contain fat-soluble vitamins, the vitamins are stored in the fat tissues in your body and in your liver. There they wait around until your body needs them. Some fat-soluble vitamins are stored for a few days, some for up to six months! When it’s time for them to be used, special carriers in your body take them to where they’re needed.
The water-soluble vitamins are like fair-weather friends—they come and go. When you eat foods that have water-soluble vitamins, the vitamins don’t get stored but rather travel through your bloodstream. Whatever your body doesn’t use comes out when you sweat or urinate; consequently, our bodies demand a constant supply.
Minerals, too, come in two flavors: macro and micro. Macrominerals are those required by a typical adult human body in quantities greater than 100 mg per day. Microminerals are required in quantities of 1 mg to 100 mg per day.
So if you skip your daily supplement, it’s like skipping the scheduled maintenance on your car: you might be fine for a while, but you’ll almost certainly have problems down the road.
Can you stop taking your vitamins if you feel good?
This is like asking if you can stop mowing your lawn and maintaining your yard. Sure you could, but after a while, it would be so overgrown, you couldn’t see your house! It would attract critters and revert back to its wild state, very likely causing damage to your house in the process: tree branches growing through the roof, moss growing on your walls. Because each vitamin and mineral is on its own maintenance schedule, taking 
them regularly ensures that all of your body’s “chores” get done in a timely fashion. And all these tasks, although perhaps minor in and of themselves, are necessary for the greater good of maintaining your own home-your body.
Do you need a good eye vitamin and daily vitamin? Then check out the Rebuild Your Vision Ocu-Plus Formula. (New customers can try a bottle for FREE)
The article on vitamins is simply well written. I have been a regular reader of your very useful blog. I admire you for your concern for all of us. It touches one’s heart. I see kindness in your eyes and to see a vision of your “Rebuild Your Vision Program”. I wish you all the best.
In another 1 1/2 months I will be 88 years old. I have been taking your Rebuild Your Vision Ocu-Plus Formula for several years now. The last few visits to get my eyes examined showed I needed new glasses. My eyes were improving each time. I go in again next week for another exam. Wonder what I will be told this time. Not bad for an 87 year 10 and 1/2 month YOUNG lady. At this age we need all the help we can get, especially for something as precious as being able to see. Thanks, Orlin, for bringing this about.
I too, am an avid reader of your blog/emails. You have great tips and I know I am maintaining the quality of my eyesight, thanks to you.
I have lost my vision on my left eye due to glaucoma…i am legally blind 0n that eye. is there any hope for me regaining some sight on it now?
Hi Barbara,
You are an inspiration to us all.
To your vision — for life,
Orlin
Hi Dgros,
I recommend reading the following blog article I wrote on Glaucoma. It should help you understand what you should do with your condition.
http://www.rebuildyourvision.com/blog/vision-conditions/glaucoma/can-glaucoma-be-prevented/
To your vision — for life,
Orlin
Thank you very much for your information.I am optometrist but through your information,my clients like me very much.keep it up