5 Best Foods For Your Eyesight
Reduces risk of blindness
If you want to maintain your independence as you get older, one thing is for sure… you have to take care of your eyes.
I’m not talking about needing glasses.
I’m talking about avoiding the most common causes of blindness as you get older, like macular degeneration, glaucoma, and cataracts.
These common eye conditions can impact your ability to read, drive, and even cook and watch TV. And they can result in social isolation, stress, and premature death.
The good news is that you can start taking steps NOW to protect your eyesight and reduce your risk of losing your eyesight as you get older.
Drugs help reduce your symptoms after a condition has already developed.
Food can prevent you from getting the condition in the first place.
That’s as true for your eyesight as it is for your risk of heart problems or type 2 diabetes.
When it comes to protecting your vision, certain foods stand out from the rest.
Here are five of the best.
- Eggs
Eggs are one of my favorite foods. They’re delicious, versatile, and loaded with nutrients. That includes nutrients known for protecting your eye health, like lutein, zeaxanthin, vitamin A, and zinc.
These nutrients protect multiple areas of your vision.
For example, vitamin A helps protect your cornea, while lutein and zeaxanthin have been well-studied for helping protect against macular degeneration and glaucoma.
And zinc has been shown to help you see better at night.
This makes eggs one of the best all-around foods for protecting all aspects of your eyesight.
- Carrots
If there’s one food that’s synonymous with good vision, it’s carrots.
And for good reason!
They contain high amounts of beta-carotene, which is the compound that gives them their bright orange color.
Light puts your eyes under a massive amount of oxidate stress, and beta-carotene helps reduce it.
Beta-carotene gets converted into vitamin A in your body, which protects your cornea and has been shown to decrease the risk of age-related macular degeneration.
- Almonds
This tasty nut is packed with vitamin E, a nutrient that helps protect your eyes from free radicals, and that has been shown to improve vision.
In one study, people with early age-related macular degeneration who supplemented with vitamin E had a 25 percent lower risk of progressing to advanced stages of the disease.
These individuals also had higher levels of beta-carotene, vitamin C, and zinc.
- Oranges
Oranges are great for their vitamin C content.
Studies have shown that vitamin C lowers the risk of developing cataracts. And when it’s combined with other eye-healthy nutrients like the ones mentioned above, it can help lower the risk of macular degeneration.
- Fish
Fish is another staple in my house.
Studies have shown that people who eat it twice a week have a 36 percent reduced risk of age-related macular degeneration.
The omega-3s in fatty fish reduce free radicals and inflammation.
Fish oil has also been shown to reverse dry eye.
