Nutrition to Improve Your Eye Health
We are continually reminded how important our diet is when it comes to staying healthy, being told that a balanced diet, which is low in fat, will give us the best chance of avoiding major diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes.
And, whilst the vast majority of people are aware of the importance of diet for our general health, few realise the same is true of our eye health.
Our vision is arguably the most valuable of our five senses — just imagine a life without it.
The problem with our vision is that people tend to take it for granted, only visiting the optometrist when they feel there is a problem.
In the same way that it is important to get your teeth checked regularly by the dentist, this is also true of your eyes.
Regular eye tests can pick up diseases, which may otherwise go unnoticed until it reaches a point where they are untreatable.
How can diet improve my eye health?
Most of the diseases which occur within the eyes are degenerative conditions, such as cataracts and age related macular degeneration.
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There are many factors that contribute to the onset and progression of these diseases, such as lifestyle, smoking, age and genetics. But, your diet is also found to play a significant role.
Both macular degeneration and cataracts are diseases, which are thought to be caused by free radicals within the eye.
Free radicals are damaging molecules formed as a result of natural oxidative processes within the cells of your eyes. Within your eyes there are two primary antioxidant pigments that help to reduce the amount of these free radicals, and consequently maintain the health of your eyes.
The names of these two pigments are Lutein and Zeaxanthin, they are found naturally in certain fruits and vegetables. A diet high in these antioxidants helps improve the health of eyes by reducing the amount of free radicals in your eyes.
This is especially important for people suffering with age related macular degeneration, as there is currently no treatment. Cataracts on the other hand can be treated very effectively by surgery.
While there is no guarantee that these antioxidants will prevent you from getting macular degeneration, the weight of evidence suggests they will at least slow down the development of the condition.
Ophthalmologists are now recommending that people who suffer from the disease either increase certain foods in their diets, or take supplements.
So, which foods should I be eating more of?
Kale
Lutein and Zeaxanthin are found in over 20 different foods. But, they are in highest concentration in the following vegetables:
- Kale
- Collards
- Spinach
- Lettuce
- Green turnips
They are also found in certain fruits, such as oranges and kiwis, but only in small concentrations.
The studies carried out recommend a daily intake of around 8 mg of Lutein and Zeaxanthin, which roughly translates to a large combined bowl of these vegetables per day.
This may not be realistic for some people, so just try to incorporate as much of these vegetables as you can into your daily diet.
In summary, although eating these vegetable may not stop you from getting cataracts and macular degeneration, they may well slow down the progression of these diseases.
Age related macular degeneration is currently untreatable, so anything which could potentially reduce your chances of getting it is certainly worth following.
Along the same lines, “Eat Your Way To Great Eyesight.”
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7 Comments
Sascha
02.07.2011
I think there is one major thing missing from this article, and that is about the thing in the western world that causes the greatest percentage of blindness in the western world: Diabetes Mellitus! And it is not only the biggest cause for blindness, but also for kidney failure resulting in dialysis and amputations. Therefore reducing visceral fat by healthy eating and exercise is not only good for your cardiovascular system and your bloodsugar control, it could also save your eyes, kidneys and limbs!
Tim Harwood
02.07.2011
That’s an excellent point. Diabetes is like you said, the biggest cause of blindness in the western world. For those people who have diabetes, the single most important thing you can do to minimise the chances of getting diabetic retinopathy is to maintain good blood sugar control
Sascha
02.07.2011
In early stages of diabetes it could be possible to reverse the disease (as long as the beta-cells in the pancreas are not completely damaged and the patient is insulin-dependent) and I think that would be the single best treatment of diabetes and therefore in preventing retinopathy and other complications. Blood sugar control is not a curative treatment, and it is very difficult to truly regulate it within a good range without getting hyper- and hypoglycemia. But this is for people who already have diabetes, and since 90% of all diabetes is type 2 DM which can be prevented in a lot of cases, prevention is the best intervention in my opinion. Diet is very important as prevention, and perhaps even as cure.
Sascha
02.07.2011
One note: I was speaking about patients who are insulin-INdependent instead of dependent.
Earnest
02.07.2011
This is a really informative article, I had no idea that Lutein and Zeaxanthin were found in so many different foods. Hopefully I can start to eat more healithly and improve my eye sight.
Melanie
02.11.2011
Hi Earnest,
No, I didn’t either, I must admit!
Alex@florist in kl
05.02.2011
Thanks for sharing such an informative post. There were lots of things in this post about which i was really not aware. I had read sometime back that carrots the best and rich in Vitamin A-beta carotene – which is one of the primary nutrients for optimal eye health.
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