METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS TO PROMOTE OCULAR HEALTH

1 . A composition to promote ocular health for ameliorating oxidative and visual stresses and degradation of the eye, including due to age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the composition to promote ocular health comprising:

an amount of vitamin A in a range of from about 2500 to about 50000 IU, where the vitamin A further comprises beta-carotene in a range of from about 0 to about 50000 IU;

an amount of vitamin C in a range of from about 60 to about 500 mg;

an amount of vitamin D in a range of from about 400 to about 2000 IU;

an amount of vitamin E in a range of from about 0 to about 400 IU;

an amount of zinc in a range of from about 15 to about 80 mg;

an amount of copper in a range of from about 0 to about 2 mg;

an amount of selenium in a range of from about 35 to about 200 μg;

an amount of non-vitamin A carotenoids in a range of from about 5 to about 62 mg, where the non-vitamin A carotenoids further comprises lutein in a range of from about 5 to about 50 mg and zeaxanthin in a range of from about 0.25 to about 12 mg;

an amount of omega-3 fatty acids in a range of from about 0 to about 5000 mg, where the omega-3 fatty acids further comprises eicosapentaenoic acid in a range of from about 0 to about 5000 mg and docosahexaenoic acid in a range of from about 0 to about 3000 mg;

an amount of taurine in a range of from about 100 to about 1000 mg;

an amount of alpha lipoic acid in a range of from about 0 to about 1000 mg;

an amount of pine bark extract in a range of from about 0 to about 500 mg;

an amount of astaxanthin in a range of from about 0 to about 5 mg;

an amount of Piper spp. extract in a range of from about 0 to about 5 mg.

2 . The composition of claim 1 where there is no amount of copper present in the composition and the amount of zinc in the composition is less than or about 30 mg.

3 . The composition of claim 1 where the amount of copper in the composition is in a range of from about 1 to about 2 mg and the amount of zinc in the composition is in a range of from about 30 mg to about 80 mg.

4 . The composition of claim 1 where there is no amount of beta-carotene present in the composition.

5 . The composition of claim 1 where there is no amount of vitamin E present in the composition.

6 . The composition of claim 1 where the amount of total non-vitamin A carotenoids is in a range of from about 0 to about 12 mg.

7 . The composition of claim 1 comprising:

vitamin A in an amount of about 2500 IU;

vitamin C in an amount of about 250 mg;

vitamin D in an amount of about 800 IU;

zinc in an amount of about 30 mg;

selenium in an amount of about 70 μg;

non-vitamin A carotenoids in an amount of about 12 mg, where the non-vitamin A carotenoids further comprises lutein in an amount of about 10 mg and zeaxanthin in an amount of about 2 mg;

omega-3 fatty acids in an amount of about 500 mg, where the omega-3 fatty acids further comprises eicosapentaenoic acid in an amount of about 300 mg and docosahexaenoic acid in an amount of about 200 mg;

taurine in an amount of about 500 mg;

alpha lipoic acid in an amount of about 100 mg;

pine bark extract in an amount of about 10 mg;

astaxanthin in an amount of about 1 mg; and

Piper spp. extract in an amount of about 1 mg.

8 . The composition of claim 7 where there is no amount of beta-carotene, vitamin E and copper present in the composition.

9 . A method of treatment for a subject exposed to a source of oxidative or visual stress to the eye or having a degradation of the eye, the method of treatment comprising the steps of:

administering to the subject a daily dose of the composition to promote ocular health of claim 1

such that the effects induced by the oxidative or visual stress source or the degradation of the eye are ameliorated.

10 . The method of claim 9 where the administration of the daily dose of the composition to promote ocular health occurs on a continuing daily basis after exposure to the source of oxidative or visual stress to the eye.

11 . The method of claim 10 where the source of visual stress is a visual display terminal.

12 . The method of claim 9 further comprising the step of diagnosing the subject with the degradation of the eye.

13 . The method of claim 11 where the administration of the daily dose of the composition to promote ocular health occurs on a continuing daily basis after the diagnosing the subject with the degradation of the eye.

14 . The method of claim 11 where the degradation of the eye is due to age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

15 . The method of claim 11 where the degradation of the eye is due to diabetes.

16 . The method of claim 11 where the degradation of the eye is due to hyperglycemia.

17 . The method of claim 9 where the subject is a human being.

18 . The method of claim 9 where the daily dose of the composition to promote ocular health is administered proportionally during a 24-hour period such that the sum of the proportional amounts of the administered composition to promote ocular health during the 24-hour period totals the daily dose.

19 . The method of claim 9 where the daily dose of the composition to promote ocular health is administered orally as part of a composition for oral administration, the oral administration composition selected from the group comprising lacquered tables, coated tablets, unlacquered tablets, uncoated tablets, caplets, hard capsules, liquid-filled capsules, hard gelatin capsules, hard vegetable-based capsules, elixirs, soft-chews, lozenges, chewable bars, juice suspensions, liquids, time-release formulations, and foodstuffs.

20 . The method of claim 19 where the composition for oral administration further comprises an excipient selected from the group comprising soybean oil, white beeswax, soy lethicin, and combinations thereof.