Can eye supplements help your eyes stay healthy? To maintain healthy vision and reduce the risk of developing degenerative eye diseases, your eyes need sufficient amounts of various nutrients. Ideally these nutrients are provided by a healthy and well balanced diet. However, the sad truth is that many people's diets are far from ideal. This artilcle looks at what your eyes need to stay healthy and whether or not eye supplements can be used to fill the gap created by a lacking diet.
Important nutrients for eye health
The human body is a complex organism and most nutrients perform many different tasks in maintaining its general health. However, certain nutrients have been shown to play a vital role in keeping the eyes healthy. These are:
Vitamin A, including beta-carotene: Essential for maintaining color vision and low-light vision. One of the first symptoms of vitamin A deficiency is night blindness. There are many foods that contain vitamin A, such as beef, chicken, pork, carrots, broccoli, cod liver oil, butter, milk, egg apricot and mango.
Vitamin C: A powerful antioxidant that protects your body against oxidative stress. Research indicates that oxidative stress in the eyes can lead to various eye conditions including dry eye disease, cataract, glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration. Some foods that are rich in vitamin C are red pepper, kiwifruit, parsley, wild potato, broccoli, orange and blackcurrant.
Vitmain D: Resrearch indicates that vitamin D might play an important role in reducing the risk of age-related macular degeneration. Important sources of vitamin D are fish liver oils, eggs, sardines, tuna and salmon.
Vitamin E: Also a powerful antioxidant that helps protect against oxidative stress. Foods containing vatimin E are nuts, spinach, tomato, mango, broccoli and olive.
Omega-3 fatty acids: Stimulates blood circulation and may help protect against macular degeneration. Found mainly in fish such as herring, sardines, salmon and tuna and also in ground flaxseeds.
Flavonoids (bioflavonoids): Pigments found in many plants and vegetables with beneficial antioxidant effects. Research suggests that flavonoids may also produce an increased blood flow to the eyes. Good sources of flavonoids are citrus fruits, bilberries, onions, red wine, dark chocolate and tea.
Zinc: Has been shown to prevent or slow down the progression of eye conditions such as macular degeneration and supports nerve function in the eyes. Zinc can be found in for instance beef, chicken, pork, peas, almonds, cashews and kidney beans.
Lutein: Carotenoid found in green leafy vegetables that protects the eyes from oxidative stress and may also protect against age-related macular degeneration and reduce the risk of cataract development. Found in kale, collard, kiwifruit, spinach and romaine lettuce and broccoli.
Zeaxanthin: Another carotenoid found in leafys greens with the same benefits as lutein.
Do you need eye supplements?
The best way to maintain healthy eyes and vision is by eating a diet that is rich in natural antioxidants and all the other nutrients mentioned above. However, eye supplements have shown to be a good way to improve levels of these vital nutrients if they aren't naturally included in your diet. Also, an extra boost of these nutrients may help reduce the effects of certain vision related diseases. There are many eye supplements on the market that contain most or many of the nutrients mentioned above.
If you are looking for eye health supplements or if you want to learn more about their use, you can find more information on our website. Your eyes are important and eye supplements can ensure they get the nutrients they need to maintain their health and keep functioning properly.
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