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12 Best Foods to Keeps Your Eyes Healthy

By on June 14, 2016

Food that keeps your eyes healthy

Whenever we talk about health, we usually focus on the heart, kidney, brain and lungs. We talk a lot about diseases like diabetes, blood pressure, dementia, etc. related to all over health. But eyes too are important body organ that needs to be taken care of and needs to be protected from age -related diseases like dry eyes, loss of vision, macular degeneration, cataract, diabetes eyes and glaucoma.

12 Best Foods to Keeps Your Eyes Healthy

12 Best Foods to Keeps Your Eyes Healthy

A healthy and active lifestyle is very important to maintain eye health. Along with these two factors, our diet also plays an important role. So if you want a healthy aging along with the ability to see well in your future, you need to act now and consume foods that keep your eyes healthy.

Foods to keep eyes healthy

Foods to keep eyes healthy

Below is the list of foods that keep your eyes healthy:

  1. Carrot and other yellow,orange fruits and vegetables- whenever we talk about foods that keep the eyes healthy, yellow-orange fruits and vegetable stand first in the row. They include carrots, tomato, mango, papaya, pumpkin and orange. They are rich in vitamin A that promotes the functions of the retina and other parts of the eyes. Beta carotene present in the yellow-orange fruits and vegetables helps our eyes to adjust well, even if level of light is low. Some more examples are apricots, sweet potatoes and yam.

  2. Dark green leafy vegetables-Dark green leafy vegetables such as spinach,kale,lettuce leaves and fenugreek leaves contains carotenoids, lutein and Zeaxanthin. These are important nutrients found in the macula of the eyes in high concentration. Lutein that is present in macula protects the central vision and helps in absorption of the blue light. Include dark green vegetables in your diet to prevent macular degeneration and cataract. Other vegetables that are considered healthy for eyes are broccoli, brussels’ sprouts, collard greens and Swiss chard.

    Dark green leafy vegetables

    Dark green leafy vegetables

  3. Eggs- Eggs not only contains lutein and Zeaxanthin but also contains zinc. Zinc is an important micronutrient that reduces the risk of macular degeneration. The egg is also rich in healthy fats and highly absorbable form of carotenoids. Boiled egg or poached egg is a better option than overcooked egg in which lutein and Zeaxanthin is damaged and lost.

  4. Cold water fish- Fish such as salmon, sardines, mackerel, and tuna are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. They lower the risk of dry eyes, cataract and macular degeneration. Other rich sources of Oemga-3 fatty acids are flaxseed oil and black currant seed oil.

  5. Wheat germ- Wheat germ is rich in vitamin-E, an antioxidant that prevents the eyes from damage caused by free radicals. It decreases the risk of cataract and macular degeneration. Other rich sources of vitamin-E are hazelnuts, almonds, and sunflower seeds.

    Wheat germ

    Wheat germ

  6. Orange pepper- Orange pepper is the richest source of Zeaxanthin that is found in the macula. Zeaxanthin is an essential nutrient for the eye that our body is unable to form.

  7. Lean beef- Being rich in Zinc that helps in the absorption of vitamin A lean beef is considered to reduce the risk of macular degeneration.

  8. Wild caught Alaskan salmon- It is rich in Omega-3s, which is concentrated in the retina of the eyes and provides structural support to eye health boosting cell membranes. It is also known to protect the function of the retina and reduces the risk of macular degeneration.

    Research has also found that Wild caught Alaskan salmon contains Astaxanthin that is a powerful antioxidant that prevents blindness and provides anti-inflammatory protection to the eye. However to reap the optimum clinical results of Astaxanthin you may not be able to eat enough salmon. But Astaxanthin supplements are available and can be taken depending upon the situation of the person.

  9. Beans and lentils- They are sources of Zinc that is required for the absorption of vitamin A. Zinc also helps the liver to release vitamin A so that it can be used by the eye tissues. Other rich sources of zinc are Oysters, poultry, and pumpkin seeds.

    Beans and lentils

    Beans and lentils

  10. Black currants- They are the richest source of Anthocyanin and also contains essential fatty acids and protects the eyes from damage caused by the free radicals.
  11. Whole grains-Whole grains are low in glycemic index and thus reduces the risk of macular degeneration.

  12. Berries and citrus fruits- They are rich sources of Vitamin c that reduces the risk of macular degeneration and cataract.

Your eyes make this world and your life beautiful. Take care of your eyes. Consume above mentioned foods to keep your eyes healthy. Keep yourself hydrated. Refrain yourself from stressing your eyes. Limit watching television and working on laptops late night. Limit use of mobile especially at night. Practice some eye relaxing exercises, take 7 to 8 hours refreshing sleep daily and spend some time outdoor to expose your eyes to multiple natural lights.

Dr. Ritu Kumari Gupta
Dr. Ritu Kumari Gupta:  Professionally a homeopathic doctor and a dietician Dr. Ritu Kumari Gupta is passionate about writing health and parenting blogs. She believes in holistic approach towards health and well being.
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