Systane ICaps Eye Vitamin & Mineral Supplement, AREDS 2 Formula, 120 Softgels (Packaging may vary)

I was diagnosed with an eye issue and prescribed an eye vitamin to keep the condition from getting worse. I selected Systane because it had Lutein and Zeaxanthin. Before retiring I worked in the business and know the importance of these ingredients. Within two years of using the product my condition completely improved. I cannot say the product is responsible but there is science that states that the ingredients do help but there are similar products on the market too. There is no claim by the manufacturer or me that the product can heal any condition. I do like the caplets. They are small and strong and do not leak when swallowed. My claim is that it had the right ingredients as prescribed by my doctor to help my condition and I did improve while using the product making no claim that it is responsible for my improvement.

On the 1-star review relating to the amount of zinc, I’ve looked into this for my wife (who has a mild case, not an advanced case, of AMD). It’s not quite accurate to say the AREDS2 study specifies 40 mg per pill. Actually, the AREDS2 study included two different amounts of zinc, one was 80 mg the other was 25 mg. Just as the Bausch & Lomb product (PreserVision) has 40 mg per pill to be taken twice a day for a total of 80 mg, so also the I-CAPS formulation is to be taken twice a day at 12.5mg per pill, for a total of 25mg of zinc, which accords with part of the AREDS2 study. The National Institutes of Health article on zinc has the following info about the “Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL): Maximum daily intake unlikely to cause adverse health effects”:Table 3: Tolerable Upper Intake Levels (ULs) for Zinc – cannot copy the table here but it shows the max for anyone 19+ years is 40 mg, not 80 mg.My worry for my wife was that if she takes the max of 80 mg as in the Bausch & Lomb product (40 mg twice a day), plus the zinc she may also take from natural sources and also from her multivitamin she would be way over the NIH “upper limit” and at risk of the side effects, particularly nausea and constipation.Furthermore, note that there were 2 studies, AREDS and AREDS2. The NIH page on Zinc says in part “AREDS2 found that a formulation providing 25 mg zinc (about one-third the amount in the original formulation [the 80 mg]) provided the same protective effect against developing advanced AMD.” Additionally, the NIH FAQ on AREDS/AREDS2 says “Although zinc was found to be an essential component of the AREDS formulation, some nutritional experts recommended a lower dose.”On the other hand, the NIH page on zinc does say that “because AREDS2 had fewer participants than the original AREDS study, and fewer than half took the lower zinc formula, the researchers view this finding as preliminary. They recommend use of an AREDS formulation providing 80 mg zinc.” And the NIH FAQ page says “Because AREDS2 did not include a placebo control, results from AREDS, placebo-controlled trial, are still considered the gold standard.”But still, 80 mg per day is twice the NIH’s own “tolerable upper intake level,” why would they recommend that? Especially since exceeding the “tolerable upper intake level” (as the I-CAPS package notes) of Zinc may cause stomach upset, for which reason they stay with the 25 mg “to help minimize negative side effects”. I also checked the reviews of PreserVision on drugs.com and found many (80 % of the 35 reviews) gave it 1 star and reported nausea and/or other strongly negative side effects.So we decided to be conservative and not risk exceeding the “tolerable upper limit” of 40 mg per day and go with the Systane I-CAPS, especially since AREDS2 did find that 25 mg worked just as well as 80 mg.

Pretty large capsule, but ok to swallow, have not noticed any flavor, recommended for age related eye disease. Less expensive than areds 2 although a little different in that the areds 2 has more zinc, have not discussed with dr. yet for my issue. Recommend

There is very big Could not swallow

I like the gel caps. I use these every day under the recommendation of my eye doctor for preventative care of my eyes. I only use the AREDS 2 formula.

Recommended by my eye surgeon and easy on my stomach. From what I read it’s scientifically sound nutrients targeting eye health.

great for good eye health

Kind of hard to rate a pill, especially one the size of a football! Just kidding, it's not quite that big, but AREDS-2 are big pills. These are a little smaller than the ones I had before and I like that. They are also a little cheaper and I really like that, but still, it is hard to pay for some OTC meds on a fixed income so when I found them on Amazon I was delighted. If you are like me, a senior citizen on a fixed income with limited transportation, Amazon can be a lifesaver. My daughter bought Amazon Prime for me to be able to shop without worrying about exorbitant shipping and handling fees. Here's a hint, if you are shopping for someone who is hard to shop for, give them Amazon Prime. I am seriously thinking about it for my (older) sister. Oh, I five stared the pills because they are not as hard to swallow as some are and they were cheaper.