Eating right plays an important role in protecting your overall health, even your vision. The foods you choose can help your eyes remain healthy and even guard against serious vision issues such as macular degeneration and glaucoma. As a bonus, healthy foods taste terrific and can add variety to your weekly meal plan!
Next time you’re doing your grocery shopping, pick up some of these vision-friendly foods. Your eye health, and your taste buds, will thank you!
Orange You Glad You Ate These Vitamin-A-Rich Foods?
Carrots are the most notorious of the foods that help protect your vision, but it isn’t just every rabbit’s favorite treat that’s good for you. Orange vegetables are high in vitamin A, which is important to your retina’s ability to turn light into images we can see. Try these orange or high vitamin A foods:
- Carrots
- Sweet potatoes
- Apricots
- Cantaloupes
- Mangoes
- Raw red peppers
- Ricotta cheese
It’s Easy Being Green
Dark, leafy greens are wonderful for your health, including your vision. They are rich in vitamins and nutrients such as lutein and zeaxanthin, which can help protect the retina. Chow down on:
- Collard greens
- Brussels sprouts
- Kale
- Spinach
- Romaine lettuce
- Broccoli
Go Nuts for Nuts and Seeds
Vitamin E is fantastic for slowing age-related macular degeneration’s progress. This vitamin, plus other nutrients, may also help prevent cataracts. Nuts, seeds, and some legumes are great sources of vitamin E, including:
- Sunflower seeds
- Almonds
- Hazelnuts
- Peanuts and peanut butter
- Wheat germ
Fishing for Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Omega-3 fatty acids are good friends to your retina. They also seem to have properties that protect your eyes from age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma. Get your omega-3 supply by adding these to your diet:
- Salmon
- Halibut
- Tuna
- Sardines
- Flaxseed and flaxseed oil
- Walnuts
Think About Zinc
Remember that vitamin A you ate? It needs a way to get from the liver to the retina to do its work. Enter zinc, the taxi service for vitamin A. Get enough zinc by eating:
- Lean meats such as pork
- Chicken
- Chickpeas
- Legumes such as beans and peas
- Eggs
- Oysters
- Yogurt
Visit Valley Eyecare Center to Maintain Your Good Eye Health
One of the most important things you can do to protect your vision is to see your eye care professional regularly for a comprehensive examination. Contact Valley Eyecare Center online, or call us at (602) 955-2700 to set up an appointment!
