by Kyle Turk
The release of the 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans comes at a pivotal moment for public health. With the federal government now reopened, attention is shifting back to one of the most influential policy documents shaping the health, nutrition and well-being of every American, including the young and old.
Yet as we stand on the edge of a new era in nutrition science, it’s clear that the current definition of “essential” micronutrients is outdated. Updating the definition may be one of the most important health reforms the Trump administration can make.
For decades, essentiality has been defined almost exclusively through the lens of deficiency diseases, vitamins and minerals required to prevent scurvy, rickets, or anemia. That framework served a purpose, but it no longer reflects what clinicians and researchers now understand about long-term health.
Today, science shows that certain non-vitamin, non-mineral compounds play critical physiological roles that go far beyond basic survival. These dietary components can improve cognitive function, support eye health, strengthen immune resilience, and reduce the risk of chronic disease. Yet they remain absent from federal nutrition policy simply because the policy has not kept pace with modern science.
Few examples illustrate this gap more clearly than lutein and zeaxanthin (LTZ), nutrients proven to preserve vision, protect against blue-light exposure, and help prevent age-related macular degeneration (AMD). AMD in 2019 affected nearly 20 million Americans aged 40 and older, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and its costs Medicare billions annually in treatments, disability and lost independence.
Per the National Eye Institute, AMD is the leading cause of vision loss for older Americans.
But nutritional-based solutions can improve lives and reduce costs associated with AMD.
According to a recent study commissioned by the Natural Products Association, Medicare could save over $2.8 billion annually in AMD-related treatment costs if 30% of Medicare beneficiaries adopted lutein (10 mg) and zeaxanthin (2 mg) at an average annual cost of $102.95 per patient.
The estimated savings derive from two primary effects: the prevention of disease progression in a subset of patients, and the delayed onset of advanced AMD in others, which curtails the need for costly ongoing treatment.
With supplement costs totaling just $36 million, the model yields a return on investment of 80:1. This means for every $1 spent on lutein supplementation, there is the potential for $80 in savings on Medicare expenditures.
LTZ supplementation offers a compelling, low-risk, low-cost and scalable opportunity to reduce healthcare costs while preserving vision and quality of life for millions of older adults. Recognizing LTZ’s essential role in human health isn’t just good science; it’s smart national policy.
Including emerging micronutrients in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans can:
- Reduce long-term healthcare costs.
- Support healthy aging.
- Improve quality of life.
- Increase awareness among clinicians, caregivers and consumers.
- Align national policy with real-world clinical science.
As the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services considers updates to the 2025 Dietary Guidelines, this is a moment to Make America Healthy Again by embracing the full scope of modern nutrition science.
Micronutrients matter. Prevention matters. And it’s time federal policy reflected both.
Kyle Turk is VP of government affairs with the Natural Products Association. You can reach him at kturk@npanational.org.
