Maintain Good Eye Health With Food
January 4, 2011 by admin
Filed under News Stories
January 4th, 2011
Natural News
By: Cindy Jones-Shoeman
Ask most people what they think is their most valuable sense, and a majority will say their sense of sight. While the sense of touch is arguably more important, people who have had the sense of sight all their lives can’t imagine life without it. That said, these people will likely want to know how to best preserve the health of their eyes. Of course, there are things people can do to keep their eyes safe (such as wearing protective goggles in situations that require them), but how can a person’s diet protect and preserve the health of her eyes? How can a person maintain good eye health through his diet?
Foods that Maintain Eye Health
Green tea may benefit eyes, thanks to the Vitamin C and Vitamin E as well as the carotenoids zeaxanthin and lutein. Green tea is also known to be beneficial for the body in general. It’s easy to see that a cup a day could benefit one’s eyes.
Carrots might seem cliche, but there’s a reason why experts recommend carrots for maintaining good eye health. Bite for bite, carrots contain ample amounts of Vitamin A — so much, in fact, that just one carrot a day can help a person meet his daily requirements. Some people prefer to take their carrots as juice, which is also a good way to benefit from the vegetable.
Tomatoes are a great source of lycopene. Lycopene is an antioxidant that also aids eye health. According to the American Cancer Society, lycopene is believed to lower the risk of macular degenerative disease, which can cause blindness. Lycopene is concentrated in tomatoes, which makes them a great food choice.
Garlic, often recommended for heart health, is also good for eye health. That’s because garlic contains healthy, reliable amounts of selenium. Like lycopene, selenium can protect the eyes from disease.
Spinach and other dark leafy greens are typically high in Vitamin C and contain other phytonutrients and carotenoids so vital to the health of the eyes as well as other parts of the body. There are few foods like them, and it’s best to include a portion of these foods every day in one’s diet.
Maintaining one’s eye health isn’t too difficult when one looks at the choices of foods available to help one’s eyes. From drinking green tea to eating a spinach salad, it’s easy to envision why feeding the body with eye-friendly vitamins, minerals, and nutrients is so important.
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Good Nutrition Can Save Your Sight
December 7, 2010 by admin
Filed under News Stories
December 7th, 2010
Natural News
By: James Schreiber
Healthy eating can reduce not only health care costs, but also the deterioration of the quality of your eyesight for years to come. A 2009 study published in Ophthalmology has revealed that a combination of a low glycemic index diet with nutrients like zinc and lutein can protect your eyes against age related macular degeneration (AMD).
Millions of Americans experience some extent of vision loss that compromises their quality of life. With sight-robbing diseases like AMD being more common than ever before, it is good to learn how to protect our eyes to ensure that they will carry us into old age without even the need to wear glasses or use contact lenses.
How to protect your eyesight naturally
Even you can have a profound influence on the state of your eyesight. Here are a few simple, yet powerful tips worth trying if you want to keep robust vision for years to come:
Antioxidants – Researchers have linked eye friendly antioxidants such as Vitamin C, Vitamin E and pro-vitamin A (beta-carotene) to reducing the risk of a number of eye diseases such as cataract formation and macular degeneration. Lutein is a particularly potent natural antioxidant capable of protecting the eye against free radical damage. The best sources of these powerful nutrients seem to be green leafy vegetables such as spinach, broccoli and kale.
Minerals - Adding certain key minerals to your diet – either through foods or supplements – will help the body absorb the aforementioned antioxidants. It seems reasonable to assume that minerals such as zinc and selenium can strengthen the eye defenses and help save your sight.
Sugar – avoid foods that spike blood sugar levels too quickly. The study published in Ophthalmology suggests that there is a direct correlation between eyesight and sugar. It is best to avoid things like soft drinks, sweets and processed foods containing added sugar.
Give these changes a try and reduce your chances of developing advanced age-related vision loss. There’s no substitute for the quality of life good vision offers. Embarking on a healthy diet plan and adding certain antioxidants to your diet can significantly improve your eye health. It’s not a miracle – simply nutrition.
