Contact lenses can be ordered here. Contact lenses can be shipped to your home or office at this time.

alarm-ringing ambulance angle2 archive arrow-down arrow-left arrow-right arrow-up at-sign baby baby2 bag binoculars book-open book2 bookmark2 bubble calendar-check calendar-empty camera2 cart chart-growth check chevron-down chevron-left chevron-right chevron-up circle-minus circle city clapboard-play clipboard-empty clipboard-text clock clock2 cloud-download cloud-windy cloud clubs cog cross crown cube youtube diamond4 diamonds drop-crossed drop2 earth ellipsis envelope-open envelope exclamation eye-dropper eye facebook file-empty fire flag2 flare foursquare gift glasses google graph hammer-wrench heart-pulse heart home instagram joystick lamp layers lifebuoy link linkedin list lock magic-wand map-marker map medal-empty menu microscope minus moon mustache-glasses paper-plane paperclip papers pen pencil pie-chart pinterest plus-circle plus power printer pushpin question rain reading receipt recycle reminder sad shield-check smartphone smile soccer spades speed-medium spotlights star-empty star-half star store sun-glasses sun tag telephone thumbs-down thumbs-up tree tumblr twitter tiktok wechat user users wheelchair write yelp youtube

Healthy Foods For Healthy Eyes

We’ve all heard that eating carrots will improve our vision. They may not give us super night vision, but eating them can help keep our eyes healthy.

What we choose to eat is one of the most important variables to our health. It affects our weight, our energy levels, our risk of many types of disease—the list goes on and on. Today, the item on that list we’re most interested in is how diet affects eye health.

Important Building Blocks Of Eye Health

Our eyes need certain nutrients, vitamins, and minerals to maintain peak functionality, so the foods we eat can make a big difference to our vision, especially in the long term.

Lutein & Zeaxanthin

Studies have linked these two nutrients to a reduced risk of chronic eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration and cataracts. The best sources of them in our diet are eggs and leafy greens.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Omega-3 fatty acids are crucial for brain function and a strong immune system, and research has shown that they play an important role in visual development and retinal function. The top source of omega-3 fatty acids is fish, although they are also present in many other foods.

Vitamins C and E

Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is an antioxidant that may lower the risk of developing cataracts and slow the progression of age-related macular degeneration and loss of visual acuity. Citrus fruits are great sources of vitamin C, but most other fruits and vegetables also contain it. Vitamin E is another antioxidant. It protects our eyes from dangerous molecules called “free radicals” that disrupt healthy tissue. Nuts and sweet potatoes are great sources.

Vitamin A and Zinc

The mineral zinc is an important “helper molecule” for all kinds of healthy processes in our bodies, including transporting vitamin A from the liver to the retina. No matter how many carrots we eat, the vitamin A is useless without zinc. Oysters have by far the most zinc per serving of any food, but it’s also present in other meats, beans, and nuts.

Vitamin A helps our eyes convert light into brainwaves and is integral to the structure of the cornea (the clear structure at the front of the eye). Vitamin A deficiency leads to blindness in between a quarter and half a million children every year.

So how do we get vitamin A? By eating foods with beta-carotene, vitamin A’s key ingredient. That’s where carrots come in, but it’s present in other yellow, orange, and leafy green fruits and vegetables. It’s actually what gives them their color!

To learn a bit more about Vitamin A and how carrots affect our vision, watch the video below:

[iframe https://www.youtube.com/embed/MpYnx3RUuzs?rel=0 620 349]

Eye-Healthy Recipes

Knowing what foods are healthy for your eyes is one thing, but finding great recipes is another! Try this baby carrot soup for a delicious way to get that much needed Vitamin A, or this roasted wild salmon and dill for your daily dose of omega-3 fatty acids. Do you have any additional eye-healthy recipes to share? Let us know in the comments below!

Diet Is Only One Piece Of The Puzzle

Eating all the right foods to promote healthy eyes is certainly a great step, but it’s not a replacement for regular eye exams. Problems unrelated to nutrition can still occur, and early detection is crucial for dealing with those problems. If it’s been a while since your last eye exam, we’d love to see you!

Thank you for being part of our practice family!

Top image by Flickr user Ján Sokoly used under Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 4.0 license. Image cropped and modified from original.
The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.