5 Top Foods for Eye Health
This leafy green is a rich source of lutein and zeaxanthin, which are related to vitamin A and beta carotene, and are believed to protect eye tissues from sunlight damage and reduce the risk of cataracts and macular degeneration.
Other good sources of these peeper-friendly nutrients include dark green leafy vegetables like collard greens, turnip greens and spinach, broccoli, peas, kiwi, red grapes, yellow squash, oranges, corn, mangoes and honeydew melon.
And kale isn’t just a one-note food — it contains vitamin C and beta carotene, other eye-friendly nutrients. Your body needs fat to absorb lutein and zeaxanthin, so be sure to eat them with a bit of healthy fat like a drizzle of olive oil.
Sweet Potatoes: The Color of Health
These orange tubers are a good source of beta carotene, which may slow progress of macular degeneration. Your body converts beta carotene to vitamin A, a nutrient that helps prevent dry eyes and night blindness. Beta carotene and vitamin A also help fight off eye infections.
Sweet potatoes not your favorite? For beta carotene, try other deep orange foods like carrots and butternut squash, plus dark green foods like spinach and collard greens. And liver, milk and eggs are other great sources of vitamin A.
But don’t count on popping a pill to get these nutrients — your best sources of vitamins and antioxidants are from whole foods, since it may be a food’s combination of nutrients that have a synergistic healing effect.
And, like lutein and zeaxanthin, beta carotene and vitamin A are absorbed best when eaten with a little healthy fat like olive oil.
Strawberries: Help You “C” Better
Now is the perfect time to get fresh, juicy strawberries, and good thing — they contain plenty of vitamin C, which is an antioxidant that can help lower your risk of cataracts.
Also be sure to load up your plate with other vitamin C-rich foods like bell peppers, broccoli, citrus (such as orange and grapefruit) and cantaloupe.
Salmon: Goodbye, Dry Eyes
Dry eyes? Omega-3 fatty acids can help alleviate the problem. Get some healthy fats every day in the form of salmon (two to three times per week), walnuts (which also include eye-healthy vitamin E), avocado, olive oil, flax seed and olives.
Salmon is also a good source of vitamin D, which helps protect against macular degeneration. You can also get vitamin D by downing sardines, mackerel, milk and orange juice fortified with vitamin D.
Green Tea: Antioxidant Powerhouse
A cup of green tea is more than relaxing and delicious — its antioxidants may help lower risk of developing cataracts and macular degeneration.
In a study reported in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, researchers fed rats green tea extract and then examined which tissues of the eye had absorbed the most catechins, which are a type of bioflavonoid, or class of antioxidants. The results? The retina, a light-sensitive layer of tissue that lines the inner surface of the eye, had the highest concentration of catechins. It’s good news that eye tissue can absorb the antioxidants from green tea, but studies on humans will need to be done to determine its effects.
