Foods For Eye Health – 9 Foods to Improve Your Eyesight

Your eyes are the connection between the outside world and you. Much of what you learn in life begins with your sight. Thus, it is extremely crucial to take care of our eyes. In our daily lives, now more than ever before, we are putting excessive strain on our eyes because of the long screen times, messy sleep schedules, and imbalanced diets. This is resulting in more and more people relying on external factors like spectacles, medicines, and even surgeries to take care of their eyes. But why go to the extremes, when we can easily take care of our eyes with simple, natural foods for eye health. 

Adding the right amount of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients to your diet in the form of whole foods that are rich in antioxidants is extremely important. These can keep conditions like cataracts, glaucoma, dry eyes, poor eyesight, and general discomfort at bay. Though there are several kinds of antioxidants your body needs to stay healthy, you should focus on Vitamins A, C, and E, lutein, zeaxanthin, omega-3 fatty acids, and zinc namely. 

The Dilemma of What’s Going to Help

To your relief, it is not exceptionally hard to maintain a healthy balanced diet and the best way to create it is by having fruits, vegetables, grains, and pulses on the daily. Eat a rainbow! To put it in a more forward way, try to incorporate different flavors, textures, and colors in your diet as with that comes the abundance of nutrients. It goes without saying that you need to cut down on sugar, and other such fattening food to help improve your eyesight.

If you are thinking to put a stop to those long screen hours and focus on giving your eyes a rest, then it’s a wise thought. It is a well-known fact that the condition of our eyes gets worse with age – but it is found that through Copper, Vitamin C, and E, and beta carotene you can reduce that risk by up to 25%. Foods like Triphala juice, or Desi Ghee, and even Wheatgrass juice may help improve eye health as they have an abundance of essential nutrients.

What Foods Improve Eyesight Naturally?

• Nuts and Legumes

Nuts are rich in omega 3 fatty acids, nuts are also known to be rich in Vitamin E that can protect them from age-related damage. The easy accessibility of nuts also makes them a preferred choice for the nutritious component of your diet. Walnuts especially are known to be extremely enriching for your eyes. 

• Seeds

A rich source of Vitamin E, and Omega 3 seeds much like nuts prove to be very beneficial for your eyes. For instance, flaxseed oil contains omega-3 with high levels of ALA, this will help promote strong cell membranes including in your eyes. Thereby, strengthening your eyesight. 

• Citrus fruits

Citrus fruits are everyone’s favorite, be it for your eyesight or your overall health. This rich-source of tangy goodness is high on its antioxidants that help combat age-related eye damage. Fruits like lemons, oranges, and grapefruits can do the job for you. 

• Leafy Green Vegetables

Leafy green vegetables are a healthy source of eye-friendly vitamins such as vitamin C. Some well-known leafy green vegetables include spinach, kale, etc. 

• Carrots

These juicy, orange vegetables are full of Vitamin A, grab one in between meals to munch on or cook it into your favorite dish – you will love the effect it has on you. Vitamin A, as discussed before, plays a rather important role in strengthening your vision. Plus, the rhodopsin in carrots helps the retina of your eye absorb light better. 

• Triphala Juice

Triphala juice simply means – three fruits. This trinity of three Indian dried fruits – Amla, Bahera, and Haritaki, can be used to heal just about any disease! Triphala helps build your eye muscles which improve eyesight. This is why it is so highly acclaimed in Ayurveda, it’s richness in Amla or Amalaki is known to enhance Alochaka Pitta that governs eyesight. 

• Desi Ghee

Desi Ghee, commonly added in just about every Indian food, has many benefits. Rich in Omega 3 fatty acids help maintain your eye health by effectively treating your eyesight, and repairing your vision. According to ancient Ayurvedic texts, you can use ghee for an eye-bath. It is recommended to try an eye bath in the presence of an Ayurvedic expert to avert any mishappenings. 

• Wheatgrass Juice

If you were to compare the amount of Vitamin A found in carrots to that of any other vegetable – you would be surprised to know that it contains as much as twice the amount of vitamins. Recommended widely for its effect on your eyes, wheatgrass can help gain back vision and get rid of your glasses slowly. 

This was a list of the best foods that support eye health, however, you can always ask your doctor to recommend foods that support eye health for a wiser understanding. 

• Whole Grains

A diet that contains a low glycemic index or GI can help reduce the rate of age-related degeneration. Swap refined carbohydrates from your diet with quinoa, brown rice, whole oats, and whole wheat bread, and pasta. The Vitamin E, Zinc, and niacin found in these foods not only impact your eyes but your overall health too. 

Lastly, it is important to take good care of your eyes and maintain their health not only by eating the right kind of diet but also ensure you follow a holistic healthy lifestyle including physical care. 

Conclusion

Some tips to conclude can be – visiting the eye doctor regularly. Pay regular visits to your eye doctor, getting your eyes medically examined can make you aware of its conditions and better equipped to deal with them too. Wearing sunglasses in the sun is not all about fashion, in fact, the tinted glasses can protect your eyes from the harsh sunlight and keep your eyes cool on burning hot days. Believe it or not, but fluctuating weight can also affect your eyesight, making your eyes weak as your diet deteriorates. Wearing protective eye gear in high tension areas is also recommended – sporting events, household chores, or field days. Lastly, Diabetes is known to mischievously affect your eye power, and hence maintaining blood sugar levels is necessary.