We don't just boast about using Natural ingredients, such as Natural Vitamin E and Natural Zeaxanthin in VisiVite Eye Vitamins because we think it has more cache. It turns out that natural ingredients often have greater biological effect. And now, the U.S. FDA agrees.
When we first began making VisiVite eye vitamins more than 20 years ago, we put in 400 IU of d-alpha tocopherol (the natural form), while the big brands found in drugstores listed 400 IU of dl-alpha tocopherol (the synthetic form). We knew that our d (right-handed molecules, natural) ingredient had more effect than the dl (mixture of right and left-handed molecules, synthetic) version. But honestly, consumers were not savvy to look for d versus dl.
No longer. The FDA mandated that manufacturers change their labels to show ACTIVE Vitamin E in milligrams rather than international units. The outcome? Those big drugstore brands that heavily advertise on TV have 180 mg of active Vitamin E, while VisiVite's natural Vitamin E supplies 268-270 mg of active ingredient. We're optimistic that the FDA will take similar steps to say what's really inside for other ingredients that we've chosen to choose natural - especially the critical ingredient for macular health, zeaxanthin. When it comes to natural versus synthetic ingredients, there IS a difference.
