Did any of you catch ‘Trust me, I’m A Doctor’ last night on BBC 2?
Michael Mosley, a self-professed sceptic when it comes to supplements, was presenting. I was genuinely curious as to whether Michael could be persuaded to see the benefits of supplements, particularly if they had the backing of respected researchers and scientists, or whether he’d stick to his guns and retain his pessimism.
I was not disappointed. In fact I was pleasantly surprised when Michael Mosley was encouraged recant his prior attitude in light of an experiment piloted by the ‘Trust me’ team.
The subject matter in question was age related macular degeneration, or AMD. After a number of tests were conducted on Michael, examining various aspects of his eyesight, from object perception to night vision, the presenter was prescribed a 90-day course of supplements, containing specified amounts of lutein, zeaxanthin and meso-zeaxanthin.
These chemicals are known as carotenoids and can be found in green leafy vegetables, brightly coloured fruit and vegetables (read more on the benefits of Purple Carrot Juice for eye health, for example) and certain types of fish. They work help your eyes absorb light and can greatly improve your eyesight – as Michael soon found out! The results after twelve weeks were enough to impress the hardened critic and they certainly proved the worth of these carotenoids.
However this was old news to me – A.Vogel has been preaching the value of lutein and zeaxanthin for years, recommending a diet rich in these compounds to sufferers of AMD. Nevertheless, while chemicals like lutein and zeaxanthin can be extracted from your food, meso-zeaxanthin can be more difficult to include in your diet as it is not usually found in plants.
But it can be found in marigold extract supplements.
Upon hearing this I couldn’t help but smile rather smugly at the television. Marigold extracts are a key ingredient in several of our A.Vogel supplements – including our Vision Complex. This is 
a product that we often recommend to those that have difficulty with deteriorating vision and it does contain marigold extracts, as well as other vision-boosting nutrients like anthocyanosides, powerful anti-oxidants that work to enhance the synthesis of collagen in the eyes.
I couldn’t help but feel proud and pleased that our values and ideas were finally receiving some positive recognition. There are people who still consider herbal medicine to be amateurish and slapdash compared to the conventional alternatives. Yet here was proof that our remedies have just as much basis in science as convention medications.
So, much like Michael I entered into this programme with low expectations but left feeling pleasantly surprised and vindicated that finally, public opinion might be swayed in nature’s favour.
