Either you are growing up or growing old, your eyesight weakens. You get myopia because your eyes are still growing, or you get age-related eye diseases when you grow old. Your vision weakens more as you grow old. You would feel there’s nothing you can do about your vision. However, eating healthy food can elongate your eye health.
By keeping a healthy diet, you can keep your overall health under control, which will keep your vision good for a long time. If you have perfect vision, maintaining a healthy diet will help you keep the prescription glasses away. If your family has a history of myopia or presbyopia, you should include healthy foods in your diet to avoid getting the eye condition.
Include these ten foods in your diet to improve your health and your eye health.
Fish
Eating fish has many benefits. Fish are rich in omega-3, which is excellent for the eyes. Tuna, salmon, mackerel, trout, anchovies are rich sources of omega-3. Include this food in your diet to get the benefit. Omega-3 or fish oil is also good for the heart. It lowers the chances of getting strokes or heart attacks.
Nuts and Legumes
Nuts and legumes are rich in vitamin E. Include this in your diet to improve your eye health. Nuts are also a rich source of omega-3. If you are a vegan, you can use these as a substitute for your omega-3 needs. Try almonds, walnuts, peanuts, lentils, etc. You can eat them at your snack time. They are way better than chips and fries. Another benefit of nuts and legumes is that they are good for heart and diabetes.
Seeds
Chia, flax, and hemp seeds are also rich in vitamin E and omega-3. Include this in your diet to add variety to your diet.
Citrus fruits
Lemon, orange, and other citrus fruits are good sources of vitamin C. Vitamin C is an antioxidant good against age-related eye diseases. If you do not like an apple a day, try an orange or orange juice a day to maintain good health.
Leafy green vegetables
Mothers have been pushing their children to eat the greens. We even had Popeye to push a little bit of tasteless and supposedly miraculous spinach in our diet. Well, they are almost true. NOt miraculous but good for your eyes. Spinach, collard, Kale, and every green leafy vegetable are rich in vitamins.
Carrots
Carrot is rich in vitamin A, an important vitamin for the eyes. It is a component of a protein, rhodopsin, that helps the retina absorb light. The best way to get most beta carotene or vitamin A is by eating cooked carrots. You get the benefits from raw carrots too, but not as much as cooked carrots. By heating carrots, more beta carotene is released. Also, it is tastier when cooked.
Sweet potatoes
Potatoes give you a burst of carbohydrates, and you consume them in every form. Sweet potatoes are an even better source of vitamin A. Boil these and eat them with spices and condiments. They are good for snack time.
Beef
If you are a non-vegetarian, the good news for you, you can enjoy your beef a little bit more. Beef is rich in zinc, and zinc is good for the eyes. Zinc also helps in boosting your immunity and metabolism. Get enough meat in your diet. Not too much or too little, just an adequate amount in your diet to get enough zinc.
Eggs
Eating eggs can reduce the risks of vision loss from ageing. Eggs are rich in lutein and zeaxanthin. Lutein enhances the sharpness of vision, improve visual contrast sensitivity, protect eye tissues from sunlight damages. If you have sensitive eyes, wear sunglasses when you go outdoors and increase lutein in your diet. If you are vegan, you can get lutein supplements.
Water
Water is the most important food that you should not neglect. While working, we often forget to drink water. Or we substitute this with coffee or soda. You should drink 2 litres of water a day to properly hydrate your body. This will reduce the chances of getting dry eyes.
When your vision deteriorates, it’s hard (impossible) to get your eyes back to perfect vision. You can improve your eyesight with Lasik surgery. Eating healthy food might not bring your eyesight back to normal, but it will keep your eyes healthy for long. You will be able to avoid many eye diseases like AMD, diabetic retinopathy etc.
Eating healthy doesn’t do any harm. It will only improve your health. Incorporate these foods into your daily food and do a bit of exercise to keep your eyes healthy and strong for years.