10 Great Foods for Healthy Vision

Maintaining healthy eyes calls for building healthy habits — and that includes eating foods that are proven to help protect your vision. 

For patients looking to maintain healthy vision, it’s important to take common-sense steps to protect your eyes. From wearing sunglasses outdoors to scheduling regular check-ups with your eye-care specialist, making the right choices and building healthy habits can help you maintain your vision now and into your future. 

One of the most essential habits you can build is also one of the easiest: eating right. By making smart choices about your diet, you can get the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that your eyes need to function properly. In fact, eating the right foods and sticking to a healthy diet can be critical in the fight against issues ranging from macular degeneration and cataracts to diabetic retinopathy. 

To learn more about the best foods for healthy vision, consider reaching out to your eye-care specialist. Until then, we’ll be discussing 10 great foods to work into your diet to keep your eyes healthy and functioning properly. 

The Importance of Vitamins and Nutrients

As any eye care specialist will be able to tell you, your eyes need a wide range of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients for proper vision function. For example, vitamin A and vitamin C both have important roles to play. Vitamin A can improve vision at night, while both vitamin A and vitamin C can lower your risk of cataracts and macular degeneration as you age.

Enjoying the benefits of any nutrient depends on consuming a safe, recommended amount. For instance, doctors recommend that teen boys consume 900 micrograms of vitamin A per day and that teen girls consume 700 micrograms. Too little, and you might not reap the benefits. Too much, and you could risk experiencing adverse health effects such as headaches, dizziness, and loss of appetite. 

10 Great Foods to Promote Eye Health

If you’re curious about what foods you should be working into your diet, consider these 10 suggestions. Each of these is packed with the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that your eyes need to stay strong and healthy.

1. Fish

Tuna, salmon, and other fish are all packed with omega-3 fish oils. These oils — which are plentiful in any oily fish — can promote eye health and can even help protect against dry eye. Whether you grill, bake, or sautée them, these oily fish should be a foundational part of your diet.

2. Leafy Greens

Vegetables such as spinach and kale are full of vitamin C and vitamin E, in addition to both lutein and zeaxanthin. By making leafy green vegetables a regular part of your meals, you can help fend off macular degeneration and cataracts.

3. Eggs

In addition to being a great source of protein, eggs provide vitamin C, vitamin E, lutein, zeaxanthin, and zinc. Each of these is an essential nutrient for maintaining healthy vision, so consider hard-boiling, soft-boiling, or scrambling them.

4. Carrots

Carrots are rich in a vitamin called beta-carotene, which is an antioxidant carotenoid version of vitamin A that your body is able to break down. Whether you eat them raw or cook them into a recipe, carrots are a surefire way to boost vision at night and protect against glaucoma. 

5. Sweet Potatoes

Just like carrots, sweet potatoes are a great source of beta-carotene. They’re also a good way to get more vitamin E into your diet, so consider baking them, roasting them, or mashing them as you put together your grocery list. 

6. Seeds

Chia seeds, flax seeds, and hemp seeds have all earned the superfood status over the past few years, and there’s a clear reason why. Each of them has plenty of omega-3s and vitamin E, making them a smart addition to yogurt, smoothies, and other easy recipes.

7. Nuts

Similar to seeds, walnuts, pistachios, Brazil nuts, cashews, and almonds are all rich in omega-3s, as well as vitamin E. This makes them a smart choice if you’re concerned about fighting vision problems specifically related to aging. 

8. Blueberries

Blueberries are a must for anyone building a healthier diet. Plus, they’re a sweet treat. Packed with anthocyanins — antioxidants that provide essential building blocks for healthy eyes — blueberries can help manage normal-tension glaucoma. 

9. Beef

While red meat should be consumed in moderation, lean beef is a smart addition to a healthy diet. Rich in zinc, beef helps the body absorb other nutrients faster and more effectively, which can help blunt the force of macular degeneration. 

10. Water

Finally, it’s important to drink enough water every day. Drinking enough water can help prevent dehydration, which can, in turn, reduce your risk of dry eyes. Plus, it’s a smart move for your overall health and can help you feel alert and active. 

Speaking with Qualified Eye-Care Experts

If you’re ready to change your diet and build healthy eating habits, consider reaching out to a team of qualified eye-care experts today. Making the right choices now can help you protect your vision and stave off issues such as cataracts, glaucoma, and macular degeneration. By reaching out to the eye-care professionals at our Mesa and Chandler locations, you’ll have the resources you need and the professional support you can rely on to eat right and maintain healthy vision.