Is Lutein a Vitamin?
In reality lutein is a vitamin. Since many of the accessory food factors which prevent deficiency diseases are amines (a chemical functional group containing a nitrogen and two hydrogen atoms), these factors were originally designated “vital amines,” i.e. amines necessary for life. In 1912 F.G. Hopkins introduced the term “vitamin” for these essential dietary factors. Of course, as it turned out, most vitamins are not amines, but the name stuck. Now the term vitamin refers to any essential nutritional factor required in small amounts for maintenance of good health which cannot be made by the body and must be obtained from the diet. Lutein can not be made by the human body, and zeaxanthin can only be made from lutein by our bodies. Therefore, the lutein that we absolutely require for good vision must be obtained from the diet. Zeaxanthin must be obtained either from the diet or be synthesized in the body from dietary lutein. Therefore, by definition, lutein is in reality an essential vi
