Are you getting all the nutrients you need to keep your eyes healthy? Incorporating the right foods into your diet can help prevent eye conditions like dry eye, cataracts, and macular degeneration.
Keep reading to learn more about how your diet affects your eye health and what foods you can eat to prevent common eye conditions.
What Nutrients Help Promote Good Eye Health?
With so many diets and trends out there, it can be hard to know which foods are truly beneficial to your eye health. According to sources like the American Academy of Ophthalmology, here are some of the best nutrients you can incorporate into your diet to promote good eye health:
Vitamin A
Vitamin A, or retinol, is necessary for the retina to turn light into images to send to the brain. Having a diet rich in Vitamin A can also prevent dry eye.
Excellent sources of Vitamin A include carrots, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, apricots, egg yolks, spinach, liver, and dairy.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is thought to prevent or delay common age-related conditions like cataracts and macular degeneration. It’s an antioxidant, which means it helps protect our cells from damage.
Citrus fruits, strawberries, peaches, kale, broccoli, peppers, tomatoes, and papaya are good sources of vitamin C and can be incorporated in many ways, like in soups, salads, or smoothies!
Vitamin E
Vitamin E is another antioxidant that helps prevent damage to cells. These compounds, called tocopherols and tocotrienols, protect important fatty acids from oxidation.
You can incorporate more vitamin E into your diet by eating almonds, sunflower seeds, avocados, vegetable oils, wheat germ, and sweet potatoes.
Lutein and Zeaxanthin
Lutein and zeaxanthin are antioxidants called carotenoids that help protect the macula, which is the part of the eye responsible for your central vision. It’s often recommended that patients with macular degeneration incorporate these nutrients into their diet.
They can also help lower your risk of developing cataracts. Lutein and zeaxanthin can be found in dark, leafy green vegetables, eggs, corn, broccoli, peas, persimmons, peaches, raspberries, and tangerines.
Flavonoids
Flavonoids are compounds that have been linked to improved retinal function, with the potential to lower your risk of developing open-angle glaucoma. Flavonoids can be found in dark chocolate, berries, red wine, citrus fruits, and tea.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Omega-3 fatty acids are essential for proper visual development and excellent for preventing and alleviating dry eye symptoms as they have anti-inflammatory properties. They can also lower your risk of developing glaucoma and macular degeneration.
Omega-3 fatty acids can be taken as a supplement or found in salmon, tuna, sardines, mackerel, chia seeds, flaxseeds, and walnuts.
Omega-6 Fatty Acids
Omega-6 fatty acids such as gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) also aid in preventing and treating dry eye, as GLA promotes the production of anti-inflammatory compounds within the body. Gamma-linolenic acid can also reduce your risk of cataracts and diabetic retinopathy.
Good sources of GLA include spirulina, hemp seeds, primrose oil, black currant seed oil, and borage oil.
Selenium
Selenium is an antioxidant that can help prevent macular degeneration, cataracts, and thyroid eye disease. You can find selenium in nuts, seeds, seafood, eggs, and dairy products.
Zinc
Zinc is a mineral that can help bring vitamin A from the liver to the retina to produce protective pigments that help prevent poor night vision and cataracts. Good sources of zinc include oysters, shellfish, red meat, nuts, and seeds.
Before making any major changes to your diet or starting a new supplement, consult your primary care provider or eye doctor to ensure it’s safe for you. It’s also essential to attend regular eye exams with your eye doctor so they can spot signs of common eye conditions early on and recommend the proper treatment.
Do you remember when you had your last eye exam? Schedule an appointment at Colorado Eye Consultants in Littleton, CO, to stay on top of your eye health!
