Healthy eyes diet

Red, irritated, dry and burning eyes? These ailments affect our eyes on a daily basis. Air pollution, extensive work in front of a computer, strong solar radiation are all factors which are hard to eliminate from our lives. Instead, we tend to focus on managing the symptoms and forget about proper nutrition of our organisms and all of its’ organs. This has many consequences, not necessarily benign ones – deterioration of eyesight, inadequate ageing of the retina or even development of serious diseases of the eye.

How then, in the light of the above, should we take care of our eyes? The most important factor is proper diet. Here you can find out which elements are crucial for maintaining healthy eyesight.

Vitamins A, C, and E

Our diet should be richer in antioxidants, such as vitamins A, C, and E. They neutralise free radicals, which are very dangerous for our eyes. Vitamin A plays a crucial role in proper function of the photoreceptors which are responsible for seeing things in poorly lit environment. Vitamin A deficiency may lead to nyctalopia and chronic deficit may cause blindness. Large amounts of this vitamin may be found in both pork and chicken liver.
Vitamin A and C are both important in the process of vision. Vitamin C is necessary in the synthesis of collagen and as such is responsible for the proper structure of the blood vessels of the eye. It can be found in citrus fruits, briar, raw vegetables, black currants and strawberries. A diet rich in those products reduces the risk of cataract.
Another vitamin which should be present in our diet is vitamin E. It is a fat-soluble antioxidant and thus protects polyunsaturated fatty acids from oxidation. Also it strengthens cellular membranes. It can be found in oils, margarine, almonds and walnuts. What is more, it prevents vitamin A from oxidising, neutralises free radicals and reduces the production of toxic substances. These three vitamins complement each and together protect our eyes.

Antocyanins in our diet

Antocyanins are pigments which are present in flowers and fruits such as: berries, cherries, cranberries, strawberries and black lilac. They supplement the structure of the capillaries within the eye – thus ameliorating its’ blood supply. They also stimulate our organisms to produce a substance called rodopsin, which enables us to see things in the dark.

Minerals

Proper healthy eyes diet should also be plentiful in minerals such as zinc, copper, selenium, and manganese. Zinc plays the most important role as it enables us to differentiate between shades of grey. Zinc deficiency may lead to myopia. Fair amounts of this mineral can be found in fish, eggs and wholemeal bread. Selenium, copper and manganese additionally act as antioxidants.

Lutein – a natural filter

Lutein is very important when it comes to proper functioning of the eyes as it protects them from harmful action of free radicals. It naturally occurs in egg yolk and fat cells.
This pigment prevents us from diseases of the eye such as cataract or macular dystrophy, which is the main cause of blindness among elderly. Proper dose of lutein may reduce the risk of glaucoma by up to 30%. It can be found in products such as spinach, kale, parsley, cabbage or yellow vegetables.
As you can see, we should protect our eyes not only from the outside but also from the inside (by moisturising and protecting from UV), but also from the inside. Proper diet is very important but one has to remember that it should always be accompanied by adequate hygiene of our most precious organs – the eyes.

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