We live in a visual world. Traffic signals, art, our family’s faces–our eyes are constantly taking in input that we use to live and enjoy our lives. Sight is incredibly important and, just like any other function of the body, is largely dependant upon proper nutrition. However, it also may be a part of our nutrition that we don’t actively think about supporting.
Healthy eyesight can be affected by a number of maladies, including glaucoma, cataracts, and macular degeneration. While not every one of these is completely understood, each of them is at least partially affected by nutrition. Proper consumption of vitamins can help control or alleviate the symptoms of these common conditions. Here, we discuss four key nutrients that can help bolster eye health.
1. Vitamin A
Vitamin A is the first and most immediately important nutrient to consider when discussing an eyes-healthy diet. Even a moderate deficiency in vitamin A intake can cause night blindness, which manifests as a difficulty perceiving details in low light conditions. Greater deficiencies cause greater visual defects in fairly short order. This is a definite hazard for anyone driving at night, making this vitamin a must.
Fortunately, vitamin A is also very easy to include in your diet, as there are a number of foods very rich in this nutrient. Liver, carrots, broccoli leaf, sweet potatoes, spinach and even butter all have high concentrations of Vitamin A. Fruits such as mangos, papayas, and cantaloupe tend to have lower concentrations, but the vitamin is still present so don’t count these sources out.
2. Vitamin C
Vitamin C is also an important nutrient that helps maintain the body’s immune system, and your eyes can be a typical place to acquire a casual-contact infection. In addition, some studies suggest that vitamin C may play a role in screening out damaging UV rays and delaying the development of macular degeneration and glaucoma.
The classic source of vitamin C remains citrus fruit such as oranges and lemons, but surprisingly these are not the most concentrated sources. Red pepper, kiwi, acerola and Cacadu plums can have more then fifty times the amount of vitamin C in the average orange. In short, it’s very easy to meet your required vitamin C quota, and you may actually be getting it from some surprising sources you hadn’t yet considered.
3. Vitamin E
Vitamin E is important because it maintains the health of the eyes’ mucous membranes. When eyes dry out, they begin to suffer surface damage. Keeping the eyes lubricated is therefore very important, and vitamin E is a natural way to take care of it without resorting to eye drops.
As with the other nutrients we’ve discussed, vitamin E is easily accessible through a number of foods, some of which you may already be familiar with. Grains and nuts can be strong sources, particularly through whole grain breads, hazelnuts and almonds. Asparagus, avocado, and eggs also tend to have good quantities of vitamin E.
4. Lutien
An important non-vitamin nutrient for healthy eyes is Lutein. Lutein has been directly linked to the amount of pigmentation in the human eye in several important studies. High levels of pigmentation have been shown to decrease the chance of age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness.
For people looking to increase their Lutein intake, the primary foods to consider are vegetables. Kale, turnip greens, romaine lettuce, corn, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts all have high levels of Lutein, as do kiwifruit.
The Overlap Factor
Obviously, people aren’t going to rearrange their entire diet just to take advantage of the benefits these nutrients have on eye health. Complete overhauls are jarring and sometimes expensive, so it’s better to look for places that overlap, providing several nutrient benefits at once.
For example, broccoli is a source of both Lutein and vitamin A. One food takes care of two concerns at once, minimizing any changes. Whole grain breads provide many benefits, such as fiber, in addition to their vitamin E content.
Important Considerations
These elements all have been observed to have some effect on eyesight and visual health, however as always many of these studies are still ongoing. An important Lutein study concluded that more research will need to be done to fully understand all of its effects, even though the study did demonstrate a link between Lutein intake and improved visual health.
Some people, knowing that they struggle with managing the foods they eat, choose to rely on multivitamins and vitamin supplements to make up the difference. There’s nothing wrong with this if done properly, but some vitamins have been known to develop toxicity if taken in too large doses. Vitamin A in particular can be very dangerous if taken past the recommended limits.
In short, remember to always consult a dietary professional such as a nutritionist or dietician before making any major changes to your diet. Ask them about the pros and cons of the choices you want to make, and ask for alternatives that they recommend before making any changes yourself. Healthy diet can protect your eyesight, and it is important to consult with professionals in order to get the best results.
Editor’s Note: Article previously published here.
…
Janet Davis and her husband are health and nutrition entrepreneurs and founders of Mark And Janet, a website with uncompromising, premium products for your health conscious family. For more on going green — Visit us at http://www.MarkandJanet.com/ or check out our blog at http://www.MarkandJanetBlog.com/
Read more articles written by Janet Davis
Related posts:
- Eating Healthy While Saving Money
Everyone wants to be healthy. Nobody likes getting sick or feeling like they’re out of shape. However, many people seem to deny themselves one of the easiest ways to live well – the healthy diet. Reasons vary from personal taste to lack of available options, but one reason that seems... - Important Minerals For Your Healthy Body
Along with vitamins, minerals are essential to the body’s good health. They are inorganic elements that the body doesn’t make; instead, we obtain them from the foods we eat or through supplements. It’s been reported that some 56 percent of adults in the U.S. use some kind of nutritional supplements,... - Cutting Calories for a Healthy Diet
Americans are taking in more calories now than ever before. Some studies show it to be as much as an additional 500 calories every day. While at the same time, more of us are leading a sedentary lifestyle. When you combine those two factors, it’s no wonder that we are... - Helping Children to Be Healthy
We have heard a lot of news recently about the alarming statistics on child obesity in the United States. Studies show that as much as 30 to 40% of children are obese. Health professionals report that they are seeing increasing numbers of children with health concerns that used to only... - Is There Such a Thing As Healthy Junk Food?
Can junk food be healthy? The food industry certainly wants you to think so! That... - Encouraging Healthy Children with Outdoor Play Sets and Activities
Having a play set in your backyard can be a great way to get your child off the couch and out into the fresh air. With childhood obesity on the rise, we need to do what we can as parents to get our children active and enjoying playing and interacting... - 7 Tips on How to Maintain a Healthy and Happy Interracial Relationship
Relationships are hard – each and every one of them, everywhere, and with everybody. Inter-racial relationships are even harder. This is mainly because of the values and cultural differences as well as stereotypes. However, that does not mean that these relationships never work. In fact, many people have made their... - How to Open Up the Lines of Communication and Maintain a Healthy Relationship
When you start out in a relationship everything seems to flow. All is smooth sailing and you’re happy to do whatever your sweetie wants. You see only the good in them and want to spend as much time as possible with them. Communicating is a breeze and you both hit... - Natural Vitamins: Learn Your ABCs
Vitamins are nutrients that keep your body healthy, but that your body cannot produce by itself; they must be supplied by your diet or in dietary supplements. Vitamins are essential for normal functioning of our bodies and are needed for our bodies to grow, stay healthy, and to prevent and... - Five Factors in Managing Diabetes Naturally
Diabetes is one of the most common chronic illnesses, affecting millions of people worldwide. It is a condition in which the body either does not produce enough insulin (Type 1), or does not properly process the insulin it is making (Type 2). There are many differing causes for diabetes, including... - Skin Care For Fall
When summer turns into fall, it’s a good time to assess your skin’s condition. An active summer has likely caused damage to your skin, which should be repaired now in preparation for winter. During the summer, skin is exposed to many harmful influences, like pool chemicals, saltwater, sunburns, heat, and... - How to Get Fast and Permanent Fat Loss
On most diets you will lose weight and not fat. Most of the weight you do lose is mostly water and not fat. You are getting dangerously dehydrated on most of these fad diets. Low carb diets will not make you lose fat because they rob your body of energy.... - A Winning Diet As the Best Body Detox Tip for a Healthier You
Natural body detox removes toxic products from the different parts of the body. You might want to consider doing it, especially if you are feeling a lot of symptoms associated with declining health. In any way, if you want to cleanse your body from all the toxins that might be... - Using Diet to Help Control Arthritis Symptoms
Diet is an important factor in many diseases including arthritis. Here are some tips to using diet to help control your arthritis symptoms. Eat a healthy, well balanced diet. This is the number one rule in controlling many diseases. When the body has the vitamins and nutrients it needs it... - Natural Skin Care: Beautiful Basics
Most of us try to look and feel our best with diet and exercise. Few consider the most important measure of our health should be given to our skin. The epidermis is the body’s largest organ and also the most telling when something is wrong. Unfortunately, the largest organ frequently...