Nutrition - Helps To Keep Your Eyes Healthy And Gorgeous

There has been a lot of interest in the role of nutrition and nutritional supplements, such as vitamin tablets, and their effect on vision. The main focus has been on how vitamins and minerals might affect age-related eye conditions such as age-related macular-degeneration (AMD) and cataracts. This page explores these issues and looks at the importance of good nutrition and how the eye can be affected by it.

Other studies have found stronger benefits from higher intakes of green leafy vegetables such as spinach and kale. They are a rich source of antioxidants called lutein and zeaxanthin, which appear to help protect the eye from the damaging effects of UV light. Lutein and zeaxanthin actually accumulate in the lens and retina and are believed to mop up excess damaging free radicals triggered by the UV light.

This benefit also seems to help protect the eye from age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), a condition that affects central vision and is the most common cause of blindness amongst older people in the UK.

Antioxidants - Vitamin A for healthy eyes

Vitamin A is an antioxidant found in foods made from animals which includes liver and eggs and in fruits and vegetables like carrots and spinach. Most types of milk are also fortified with vitamin A. Vitamin A is essential to proper functioning of the retina. It also helps prevent night blindness by helping the eye to adapt between bright light and darkness. Vitamin A also helps reduce the risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and the forming of cataracts. With AMD and cataracts being the leading causes of visual impairment and with the number of people to be affected increasing, getting a good amount of Vitamin A is essential to the eye's health and beauty.

Make sure fats are healthy. The omega-3 essential fatty acids found in fish, flax, walnuts, and canola oil help to prevent dry eyes and possibly cataracts. Eat fish or seafood twice weekly, or take flax oil every day. Use canola oil for cooking and walnuts for snacking.

Choose good sources of protein. Remember that fat content and cooking methods are what make proteins healthy or unhealthy. Also, avoid saturated fats from red meats and dairy products that may increase your risk of macular degeneration. Choose lean meats, fish, nuts, legumes, and eggs for your proteins. Most meats and seafood are also excellent sources of zinc. Eggs are a good source of lutein.

Emphasize fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. In particular, leafy greens such as kale, spinach, arugula, and chard may protect against cataracts. Blueberries, blackberries, beets, broccoli, and carrots are also excellent choices. Whenever possible, eat colorful foods—deep green, orange, yellow, purple, red, blue. These contain the highest levels of carotenoids and other healthy pigments. Whole grains are rich in vitamins and minerals.

Other tips: Smoking is harmful to eyes—so if you smoke, let this be your motivation to quit. Stay out of smoky environments. Be sure you get regular eye exams—once every three to five years starting at age 39, more often as you get older, depending on your state of health and on professional advice.