The food you eat plays a crucial role in your overall health, including that of your eyes’. In today’s article, family eye care clinic Park Slope Eye talks about how proper diet and nutrition can help delay or even prevent certain age-related eye diseases.
How Food Affects Your Visual Health
There is a direct link between the food you eat and the condition of your health. Often, people who are mindful of their diet and nutrition tend to have fewer diseases than those who don’t observe a healthy lifestyle. It’s long been proven that a diet containing high amounts of saturated fat and sugars may increase the risk of developing eye diseases such as cataracts and macular degeneration. On the other hand, a carefully cultivated food regimen containing vitamins and minerals can help prevent certain eye diseases.
Foods rich in healthy proteins, omega-3 fatty acids and lutein are known to promote good eyesight. Make it a habit to include these in your diet as part of your eye care routine.
What to Eat
According to experts, you should consume at least five to nine servings of fresh fruits and vegetables daily. Dark, leafy greens and colorful fruits contain high amounts of antioxidants that protect your eyes against free radicals. Free radicals or oxidizing agents can cause age-related eye diseases. Foods rich in Vitamin A, such as carrots and squash, are also essential for healthy vision. Lutein and zeaxanthin found in spinach, kale, sweet corn, peas and broccoli can protect the retina from the oxidative effects of ultraviolet light.
Other food types such as whole-grain bread, lean meats, fish, nuts and legumes are also good sources of nutrients that can fortify your visual health. Your eye doctor may also ask you to take supplements with beta-carotene to reduce your risk of developing age-related macular degeneration.
If you’re looking for reliable and personalized eye care products and services, look no further than Park Slope Eye. Call us today at (347) 380-7070 to schedule an appointment. We work with patients in Park Slope and Brooklyn, NY.
