A healthy lifestyle can significantly reduce the risk of eye health problems. Foods that are high in antioxidants and vitamins play a key role in the health of your eyes. Regular exercise and a balanced diet are important for general wellbeing and protecting against many eye health conditions.
When you add specific fruits and vegetables to our daily diet, you can improve or preserve eyesight and keep cataracts or AMD away. A diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids zinc, beta carotene and Vitamins E and C help protect from these permanent conditions. In addition when you add these healthy fruits and vegetables to your diet and altering eating habits that are unhealthy, you can maintain the right weight. This will also make it more unlikely to get type 2 obesity-related diabetes.
1. Citrus Fruits Citrus fruits like oranges, lemons and grapefruit are high in vitamin C. Vitamin C helps the body form and maintain connective tissue, including collagen found in the cornea of the eye. Vitamin C also supports the health of blood vessels in the eye. It may help with age-related vision problems like macular degeneration and cataracts.
2. Berries Strawberries, cranberries, blackberries and blueberries are great superfoods for healthy functioning eyes. Berries are packed with nutritious vitamins and minerals and are of particular benefit in maintaining eye health. Antioxidants present in most berries may help to prevent dryness, lower blood pressure, vision defects and macular degeneration.
3. Bananas Potassium is also great for eye health, particularly for dry eyes, as it is one of the important components that make up the tear film and help to maintain film thickness. Bananas are also a source of vitamin A which is also crucial for eye health. Vitamin A protects the cornea, which is essential for good vision.
4. Mango and Papaya Mango and papaya are full of nutrients that help support healthy eyes. Two key nutrients are the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin. These act as a natural sunblock, absorbing excess light coming into the retina. They also protect the eye from harmful blue light.
5. Apricots Apricots are particularly beneficial to eye health because they contain vitamins A, C and E and carotenoids, and they are high in beta-carotene. This is said to help with night vision and the eyes ability to adjust to dark settings. They also help to absorb damaging blue and ultraviolet light in order to protect the retina.
There are a number of ways you can consume and enjoy these fruits. You could choose to blend them in a smoothie, add them to a dessert or add them to a fruit salad. Adding these tasty fruits to your diet can help with keeping your eyes healthy, but it is very important to schedule regular eye examinations with your ophthalmologist to detect any underlying eye problems.
This post originally appeared on Eye Clinic London.
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