Good Nutrition for Healthy eyes

People are getting a lot busy and lazy nowadays and so the exposure to fast food is also increasing. In this article, Good nutrition for healthy eyes, we discuss some essential diet tips for eye health.

• Food involving fruits, carrots, and green vegetables is always linked with healthy eyes moreover an eye condition called xerophthalmia, which is caused by a lack of vitamin A in a person’s diet  and a common cause of childhood blindness due to malnutrition, is a good example of how nutrition and eye health are interrelated.

• This condition and could be prevented by eating fresh vegetables, fat (animal and plant) and protein (eg meat, eggs, cheese, fish, poultry, milk, yoghurt, dairy products, nuts, seeds, pulses and grains).

• Smoking is as bad for eyes as it is for the rest of your body and must be avoided building into a habit. Research has linked smoking to an increased risk of developing age-related macular degeneration, cataract, and optic nerve damage, all of which can lead to blindness.

• Good nutrition having anti-oxidant vitamins A, C and E found in certain foods have been linked with eye health. These vitamins can be found in many different sources of fruit and vegetables such as oranges, kiwis, grapefruit, dried apricots, tomatoes, peppers, raw carrots, green leafy vegetables including kale and spinach, green peas, green beans, brussels sprouts.

• Other sources of antioxidants and vitamins include  nuts, seeds, dairy products, and eggs. Research has also shown there are eye health benefits from eating fish high in omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon, tuna, and halibut.

• Recent research suggests that two types of antioxidants, known as carotenoids, called Lutein and Zeaxanthin may also assist with eye health. It has bees suggested that people who have a good diet rich in carotenoids, particularly lutein and zeaxanthin, have a lower risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

• Lutein and Zeaxanthin are naturally present in vegetables and fruit. For example, Lutein can be found in yellow peppers, mango, bilberries, and green leafy vegetables such as kale, spinach, chard, and broccoli.

• Zeaxanthin can be found in orange sweet peppers, broccoli, corn, lettuce (not iceberg), spinach, tangerines, oranges, and eggs.

• Many of these overlap with food types in which vitamins A, E, and C are present which mainly includes green leafy vegetables and fruits thus including them in the diet is good step forward for healthy eyes.

References and Further reading:

1. Nutrients for the aging eye by Rasmussen HM, Johnson EJ
2. https://www.nei.nih.gov/areds2
3. http://www.aoa.org/patients-and-public/caring-for-your-vision/?sso=y
4. http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/antioxidants/
5. http://hnrca.tufts.edu/research/research-laboratories/nutrition-vision-research/