04 Aug The 5 Best Foods for Eye Health

Maintaining a well-balanced and healthy diet is one of the best ways to help protect your eye health. In fact, it can greatly reduce your chances of developing eye conditions or diseases such as: vitamins, nutrients, and minerals. These are extremely important in the prevention of cataracts, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration and more. Here are some of the best foods to eat to promote your eye health:

Fish

Fish, especially salmon, are the best source of omega-3 fatty acids. This “healthy fat” helps visual development, the health of the retina, and prevents a very uncomfortable and often chronic condition called “dry eye”.

Eggs

The yolk of an egg contains vitamin A, lutein, zeaxanthin, and zinc, which are all crucial to eye health. While vitamin A protects the cornea, lutein and zeaxanthin help to reduce the chance of retinal damage by UV light. In addition, zinc helps your eyes see better at night (which is both very helpful and very cool).

Carrots

This is one of the most popular and well-known foods for eye health. Carrots are beneficial to the eyes due to its high amounts of Vitamin A and Beta-Carotene. Vitamin A is essential for the eye in order to protects its surface (cornea) from dryness an infection. Vitamin A and Beta-Carotene help to enhance night and peripheral vision.

Kale

Kale is an incredible superfood that holds plenty of benefits for your whole body. It is great for the eyes due to its high levels of lutein and zeaxanthin. These carotenoids help prevent UV damage to the retina, as well as further damage against certain retinal diseases (Macular Degeneration). It is important to acquire these antioxidants from food, as they are not made in the body!

Oranges

Citrus fruit in general contains vitamin C, which is a key component of eye health. It helps keep your eye blood vessels happy and healthy as well as combats the development of cataracts and age-related macular degeneration.

If all it takes is eating these delicious foods and regularly visiting your optometrist, maintaining your eye health isn’t very hard. If you are due for a checkup, visit Dr. D’Orio Eye Care at either of our locations. Call us today at 416.656.2020 (Toronto location) or 416.661.5555 (North York location) to book an appointment.