Eat Your Way to a Clear and Healthy Vision

Not only your body feeds on good nutrition, but your eyes also need some essential nutrients to maintain their health and beauty.

Certain types of foods are found to be effective in lowering the risk of getting eyes ailments such as cataracts and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). AMD is found to be a major cause for vision loss and visual impairment in developed countries, affecting mostly people over 60 years old.

The Carotenoids in Age-Related Eye Disease Study (CAREDS) was conducted among 1,787 females aged 50 to 79. It is observed that women, who consume over 3 milligrams of lutein and zeaxanthin daily, revealed a substantial 43% reduced risk of getting AMD when compared with women who consumed only 0.75 milligrams of lutein and zeaxanthin daily. This study concluded that lutein and zeaxanthin are two substances that may protect against AMD and perhaps even slow the progression of already affected AMD patients.

Lutein and zeaxanthin are nutrients found in a variety of fruits and vegetables. The major sources of these nutrients include Savoy cabbage, broccoli, peas, corn, bilberry, kale, collard greens, yellow peppers and mango.

Much research evidence has indicated that lutein and zeaxanthin are two important key nutrients that feed our eyes. Both lutein and zeaxanthin are also noted for their ability to filter harmful short-wave blue light. Additionally, both these nutrients have demonstrated their antioxidant properties in reducing the damaging effects of free radicals (unstable molecular fragments that can damage good cells).