AREDS2 eye formula

The eye formula proven in the AREDS trials. With macular degeneration at any stage, or another diagnosed eye disease, you should be on it. Without eye disease, nobody knows whether it helps; Dr. French takes it anyway, and says why.

At a glance

Our verdict	Any macular degeneration, including early drusen, or other diagnosed eye disease: you should be on it (the trial benefit, 78 fewer progressions per 1,000 over about 5 years, is for intermediate macular degeneration). No eye disease: a personal choice; we don't know whether it prevents anything.
Best use	Eyes: macular degeneration
How sure the evidence is	Moderate with intermediate macular degeneration; No evidence (no trial) without eye disease
Cost a month	About $15 to $20 (caplets); about $18 (low-zinc softgel)

Written for adults in Canada. It explains the evidence; it is not advice for you personally. Last reviewed 20 October 2026.

Supplement Check

Is it right for you?

Which version you need depends on the stage of your eyes, whether you smoke or used to, your prostate and urinary history, and how much zinc and vitamin E you already take. We add it all up before we choose. Our Supplement Check looks at:

Smoking now or in the past, and any eye diagnosis
Prostate cancer, a raised PSA or an enlarged prostate, or urinary infections or stones
Current cancer
Kidney function well below normal (eGFR under 30)
Wilson disease (copper overload)
Every medicine you take
The total across everything you already take, against the safe upper limits

Coming soon. The Supplement Check and the Online Health Assessment open once our safety testing is complete.

$59 when it opens, paid once. Adults 18 and over, anywhere in Canada. While the service is new, Dr. French reads every report himself, and your report arrives within 3 working days. More about the Supplement Check

Tell me when it opens

What it is

AREDS2 is the formula used in the second Age-Related Eye Disease Study. Each day it gives vitamin C 500 mg, vitamin E 400 IU, zinc 80 mg, copper 2 mg, lutein 10 mg and zeaxanthin 2 mg, and no beta-carotene. [1, 2] The original AREDS formula used beta-carotene 15 mg in place of lutein and zeaxanthin. [3]

The product we use: an AREDS2-formula eye supplement with no beta-carotene, at the trial doses (your report names the exact licensed product). Two caplets give the AREDS2 formula exactly, dose for dose, with the copper licensed and stated, no beta-carotene and no extras. [4] When zinc should be limited we use a low-zinc AREDS2 softgel: the same formula with zinc 25 mg, the trial's low-zinc arm.

Why the exact product matters. Eye-supplement ranges hold many licences under similar names. Some are under-dosed for macular degeneration (for example vitamin C 300 mg, vitamin E 100 IU, zinc 25 to 40 mg); older products contain beta-carotene; “+ Omega-3” versions double the price for an ingredient the trial showed adds nothing; some chewable versions add iron 4 mg; and one product that matches the formula does not state a copper amount on its Canadian licence. Your report names the exact licensed product. [4] In an American survey of top-selling eye supplements, only 4 of 11 matched the AREDS or AREDS2 doses. [5]

Structure of AREDS2 eye formula — Structure: PubChem (public domain).

How it acts

The formula supplies antioxidants and zinc to the layer of cells under the retina. Lutein and zeaxanthin collect in the central retina (the macula) as its yellow pigment and filter blue light. In people, the mechanism has not been shown beyond raising that pigment. The case for the formula rests on outcome trials, not on mechanism.

The retina is nerve tissue. Lutein and zeaxanthin in the retina go with the levels in the visual part of the brain in donor studies. [6] That is an association, not proof that the formula helps the brain.

Outline of a person showing where AREDS2 eye formula acts in the body

What it is used for, and what the evidence says

Macular degeneration has stages. Early: many small or a few medium-sized deposits under the retina (drusen). Intermediate: large drusen. Late: “wet” (new leaking vessels) or “geographic atrophy”. The trials were done in people with macular degeneration. Dr. French's ruling covers every stage and other diagnosed eye disease; we say below where the trials stop.

Use	What the trials found	How sure we are
Intermediate macular degeneration, or late in one eye	AREDS: 3,640 people aged 55 to 80, followed 6.3 years. The formula lowered the odds of advanced macular degeneration by about a quarter (odds ratio 0.72). [3] A Cochrane review of 26 trials and 11,952 people: about 78 fewer people per 1,000 progressed to the late stage over 5 to 6 years (26 to 126 fewer). Wet macular degeneration was less common (odds ratio 0.62), and fewer people lost 3 or more lines on the eye chart (odds ratio 0.77). [7] About 13 people take it for 5 to 6 years for one to avoid the late stage.	Moderate
Early macular degeneration (drusen)	Only 1.3% of people at this stage progressed over 5 years in AREDS. [3] The benefit is about 4 fewer progressions per 1,000 (1 to 6 fewer). [7] Small, but Dr. French's ruling is that anyone with signs of macular degeneration should be on it.	Moderate
Other diagnosed eye disease	No trial of the formula in eye diseases other than macular degeneration was found in our review. Dr. French recommends it here on his judgement; the evidence is for macular degeneration.	No evidence (no trial)
No macular degeneration: prevention	A Cochrane review of 5 trials and 76,756 people: vitamin E, beta-carotene and vitamin C did not prevent macular degeneration. A multivitamin slightly raised any macular degeneration (relative risk 1.21, moderate certainty). No prevention trial of lutein, zeaxanthin or the AREDS2 formula itself exists. [8]	High (no benefit)
What AREDS2 changed	4,203 people aged 50 to 85, 5 years. Adding lutein and zeaxanthin to the old formula gave no clear extra benefit; omega-3 fish oil added nothing. Removing beta-carotene and lowering zinc made no difference to progression. [1] At 10 years, lutein and zeaxanthin did better than beta-carotene for late macular degeneration (hazard ratio 0.85), and low zinc protected as well as high zinc (hazard ratio 1.04). [2]	Moderate
Memory and thinking	In 3,501 AREDS2 participants tested for 5 years, lutein and zeaxanthin did not change memory or thinking. [9] In 2,166 AREDS participants after a median 6.9 years, the antioxidants and zinc made no difference on any of six tests. [10] Small trials of lutein alone show scattered gains on some tests; pooled, none was significant. [11] No trial has tested the formula for the brain in people without macular degeneration.	Moderate (no effect)

How sure we are: High means further research is very unlikely to change the answer; Moderate, it might; Low, it may well change; Very low, we are very unsure. These follow the GRADE method that guideline panels use.

Benefits

Intermediate macular degeneration: about 78 fewer people per 1,000 reach the late, sight-threatening stage over 5 to 6 years (moderate certainty). [7]
Fewer people losing 3 or more lines of vision (odds ratio 0.77). [7]
Early macular degeneration: about 4 fewer per 1,000 over 5 years.
It does not reverse damage already there, and it is not a treatment for wet macular degeneration, which needs injections.
No effect on death either way (low to very low certainty). [7]

Risks and side effects

Vitamin E 400 IU. In a trial of 35,533 men, vitamin E 400 IU raised prostate cancer by 17% (about 1.6 extra cases per 1,000 men a year). [12] Prevention trials also showed a signal for bleeding strokes (low certainty). [8] Both Canadian AREDS2 versions carry 400 IU.
Zinc 80 mg. Twice Health Canada's upper limit of 40 mg a day. [13] In AREDS, hospital admissions for urinary problems were 11.1% against 7.6%, mostly in men. [14] Stomach upset. The low-zinc softgel avoids most of this and protected the eye as well. [2]
Beta-carotene (old AREDS products only). Lung cancer was 2.0% against 0.9% in AREDS2, mostly in former smokers; [1] at 10 years the odds were 1.82 times higher. [2] AREDS2 removes it; products labelled “AREDS” (not “AREDS2”) may still contain it.
Copper. Zinc taken without copper can lower copper; that is why the formula carries copper 2 mg.
Two large tablets a day.

Interactions with medicines

The formula does not change how the liver clears medicines (no enzyme induction or inhibition at these doses). Its interactions come from vitamin E and bleeding, zinc binding medicines in the gut, and doubling up with other products.

Medicine	What can happen	What to do
Warfarin and other blood thinners, antiplatelet medicines	Vitamin E adds to bleeding risk	Held for a doctor
Tetracycline and quinolone antibiotics	Zinc binds them and less is absorbed	Space by 2 to 4 hours
Penicillamine	Zinc reduces its absorption	Held for a doctor
Other products with zinc, vitamin E or copper (multivitamins add 7.5 to 15 mg zinc)	Totals add up; AREDS2 caplets plus an age-50+ multivitamin give zinc 91 mg a day	Every product is added up; we switch to the low-zinc softgel (zinc 36 mg with an age-50+ multivitamin)

Who should not take it

Smokers and former smokers: the AREDS2 formula is suitable, because it has no beta-carotene. Never an original “AREDS” product or an older eye product with beta-carotene.
Prostate cancer, a raised PSA or an enlarged prostate, or urinary infections or stones: vitamin E 400 IU and high zinc are a doctor's decision; the low-zinc softgel at least.
Current cancer: at least one AREDS2 product's licence says to consult a doctor before use.
Kidney function well below normal (eGFR under 30): zinc and copper can build up; held for a doctor.
Wilson disease (copper overload): do not take.
Taking a blood thinner: held for a doctor.
Pregnancy, breastfeeding and children: not studied; macular degeneration is a disease of later life.

Dose and timing

With macular degeneration or other eye disease: AREDS2 caplets, 2 a day with food (one twice a day). Continue while the diagnosis stands.
Low-zinc softgel, 2 a day, if you have had prostate or urinary problems, zinc upsets your stomach, you take other zinc, or the totals across your products would go too high.
Without eye disease, as a personal choice: the low-zinc softgel. With an iron-free age-50+ multivitamin it keeps total zinc at 36 mg, under the 40 mg limit.
Check the label says “AREDS2” and does not list beta-carotene.
Store at room temperature, dry.
How to tell it is working: you cannot. There is no blood test; the benefit is a slower rate of progression across a group. Keep yearly eye examinations and use a home Amsler grid. If straight lines start to look wavy, or a new blur appears in the centre of your vision, see your eye doctor that week.

What we know about Canadians

Canada has no measured national figure for macular degeneration by age; a Canadian study using eye photographs from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging is under way. The best pooled data are American: about 1.5% of people over 40 have late, sight-threatening macular degeneration, rising steeply with age to more than 15% of white women over 80. [15] Worldwide, any stage affects about 14% of people aged 45 to 85 in North America. [16] It is the leading cause of blindness in white people. [15]

Most at risk: age over 75, white ancestry, smokers, a family history, and people already diagnosed with intermediate macular degeneration in one eye.

How sure are we: low. Indirect: American and pooled data applied to a similar Canadian population.

An honest comparison: progression of macular degeneration

The same outcome, with the cost a month in Canadian dollars.

Option	Effect	How sure we are	Cost a month (CAD)
AREDS2 formula, intermediate macular degeneration	78 fewer per 1,000 reach the late stage over 5 to 6 years [7]	Moderate	$15 to $20
AREDS2 formula, no macular degeneration	No prevention shown; no trial of the formula itself [8]	High (vitamins tested)	About $18 (softgel)
Stop smoking	Smoking is the main risk you can change (observational; not measured as a number in our review)	Low	Free; nicotine replacement about $50 to $100
Leafy greens, eggs, fish	Observational links only; no outcome trial	Very low	Food
None for dry macular degeneration	No medicine is proven to slow the dry form. Injections treat wet macular degeneration once it appears, a different outcome	Not comparable	—

For memory and thinking, exercise has far better evidence (about 0.29 standard deviations in people over 50) [17] than the formula, which had no effect over 5 to 7 years in people with macular degeneration. [9, 10] So does keeping systolic blood pressure under 120 (19% less mild cognitive impairment). [18]

Our verdict

You should be on it if an eye doctor has found macular degeneration at any stage, including early macular degeneration and drusen, or another eye disease. The trial evidence is for intermediate macular degeneration (78 fewer progressions per 1,000 over 5 to 6 years); at the early stage the benefit is small, and for other eye diseases there is no trial. AREDS2 caplets, two a day with food; the low-zinc softgel if zinc should be limited.

No eye disease, or worried about it? Could it prevent macular degeneration, or help the brain? To be honest, we don't know. No trial has tested the formula in people without macular degeneration, and its vitamins taken singly did not prevent the disease. Some doctors, Dr. French included, take it anyway: the retina is nerve tissue, the formula is affordable, and the side effects are few. In his words, it is a value judgement as much as an evidence judgement. If you choose it, take the low-zinc softgel. If a family member has macular degeneration, the most useful step is a dilated eye examination with retinal imaging.

Smokers and former smokers: AREDS2 only, never a product with beta-carotene. Stopping smoking is the single most useful thing you can do for your eyes.

The formula has moderate-certainty trial evidence of slowing intermediate macular degeneration, and no medicine does that for the dry form. Dr. French's ruling widens it: any sign of macular degeneration or other eye disease, you should be on it, with an honest line that the trials were in macular degeneration. Without eye disease the trials show no prevention, so it is offered only as a personal choice, with the risks stated: vitamin E 400 IU (prostate cancer) and zinc above the upper limit. The low-zinc version removes most of the zinc concern and protected the eye as well, which is why it is the default for that choice. The adding-up check across everything you take decides between the two versions.