Food and eye health: diets and their benefits

Visual health: What means?

The first thing we must clarify is what we mean when we talk about visual health. When we talk about visual health, we are talking about vision and ocular wellness that allows us to develop in our daily lives without limitations.

Although we usually use eye health and eye health as synonyms, we must be clear that eye health is related to the structure of the visual system, that is, having good eye health is having healthy eyes. And visual health refers to the sense of sight. To have good visual health is to have good quality of the sense of sight, preventing anomalies caused by the entry of light. Although they are not the same, eye health and visual health are often related.

The importance of nutrition for visual health

By now we all know that it is important to take care of our diet to have a healthy and healthy life, to be active and to be able to perform any daily activity without problems. But little is said about the importance of nutrition for good visual health.

There are certain foods that are good for the state of sight to be optimal, as well as other foods that in the long term will end up damaging our visual health. Below, we leave you a short list of which foods you should prioritize in your meals and which you should eliminate with respect to your visual health.

It should be noted that these are generic recommendations and that if you have any condition or food allergy you should prioritize your doctor's indications.

Foods that are good for your eyesight

At this point it is also important to note that the foods mentioned below are foods that help us to maintain our visual health in good condition, but they are not miracle foods in the sense that they will improve our eyesight if we already have any condition. These are foods with properties that help us in the prevention of visual alterations in the medium/long term:

Green leafy vegetables (spinach, chard or lettuce): they have a large amount of vitamin E responsible for generating retinol and that helps fight complications such as dry eye.

Carrot: has vitamin A, C and B1, potassium and iodine, antioxidant minerals that will help prevent the deterioration of our eyes.

Oily fish (salmon, sardines, mackerel or tuna): its high content in omega 3 will help our health, in general, and our visual health, in particular.

Legumes: high in zinc, which helps protect our eyes from the effects of light incidence.

Foods thar are bad for eye health

In general, foods that are harmful to our visual health are also harmful to our whole organism and could be summarized as "ultra-processed foods". Take note to reduce or, preferably, eliminate these foods from your shopping list:

Processed carbohydrates (made with white flour and/or sugar): they lack vitamins, minerals or fiber and their abuse can end up generating type 2 diabetes in the long run, damaging our eyesight as well.

Trans fats (abundant in processed snacks or convenience foods): they raise bad cholesterol and lower good cholesterol.

Processed red meats (sausages, bacon, sausages): their high content in sodium, nitrites, fats and proteins can end up deteriorating the macula in the retina.

Alcohol and tobacco: alcohol abuse can cause damage to the optic nerve, tobacco smoke degenerates our retina and, in general, tobacco can cause cataracts, glaucoma or ocular degeneration.

Essential nutrients for visual health

Opticians and ophthalmologists have been advocating for years the importance of maintaining a balanced diet to promote our visual health. Recently, the American Academy of Ophthalmology has published research confirming that foods rich in vitamins C and E, zinc, lutein, zeaxanthin and omega-3 fatty acids are directly related to a lower risk of age-related macular degeneration, cataracts and/or dry eye.

This list includes a series of essential nutrients for our visual health and different foods that contain them so that you can include them in your diet if you are not already doing so:

Vitamin C: oranges, kiwis, strawberries, tomatoes, red and green peppers, broccoli.

Vitamin E: almonds, sunflower seeds, olive oil, avocado.

Zinc: legumes, seeds, meats, seafood, dairy products, eggs.

Lutein and zeaxanthin: green leafy vegetables, broccoli, asparagus, colored fruits are sources of these two nutrients that are already found naturally in our retina and that thanks to them will protect it from alterations or possible affections.

Poor diet and ocular diseases

Just as the above nutrients and foods have been shown to benefit our visual health, it has also been proven that maintaining a poor diet causes different eye problems such as myopia or dry eye.

Nearsightedness

Myopia is an internal physical problem of our eye that prevents us from seeing objects clearly at a distance.

A poor diet, especially if it is deficient in vitamin A, can end up aggravating myopia. The abuse of processed carbohydrates, trans fats and/or red meat increases the risk of suffering from this visual defect.

Although the only cure for myopia is surgery, maintaining a diet rich in vitamin A and nutrients will help prevent it.

Macular degeneration

Macular degeneration is a disorder that gradually destroys central or sharp vision and is usually associated with age and is often referred to by the acronym AMD (Age-Related Macular Degeneration).

To prevent the onset of AMD, it is recommended to follow a low glycemic index diet to avoid rapid increases in blood sugar. As far as possible, it is recommended to prioritize foods such as: oatmeal, brown rice, whole wheat bread, wheat pasta, nuts.

Eating fish high in omega-3 fatty acids twice a week helps reduce the risk of macular degeneration.

Dry eye

We suffer from dry eye when the eye cannot produce the natural tears necessary to hydrate it. In addition to using artificial tears, there are certain foods that include healthy fats that help keep the eye well lubricated, such as oily fish, nuts or sunflower oil.

Drinking plenty of water and herbal teas also helps the eye to create enough tears and combat dry eye.

Glaucoma

Glaucoma is a disease that affects the optic nerve, thus affecting vision and, in some cases, can cause irreversible blindness. Although there is no cure for glaucoma, there are certain treatments that help control it.

It is also important to eliminate from your diet several foods that contribute to increased eye pressure: sugar, salt, caffeine, ultra-processed foods, processed red meat, tobacco, alcohol.

It is very important to maintain a balanced diet with foods rich in omega-3, vitamins C, E and B1, as well as green leafy vegetables. Of course they will not eliminate glaucoma, but they positively help to prevent it.

Myths and truths about nutrition and eye health

Surely you have heard that carrots improve our vision, but how true is this statement? Let's debunk some of the most common myths about food and eye health.

Let's start with the one we just mentioned. As we have seen in previous paragraphs, carrots are rich in vitamin A and this is an important nutrient for our vision, but not because you abuse carrots you will see better. Consuming carrots on a regular basis as part of a balanced diet will help your visual health, just like eating tomatoes, spinach or peaches.

Another less widespread and more false myth is that the nutrients in breast milk reduce myopia in children. Something totally false, since the only cure for myopia is through an operation and no food helps reduce myopia, but, again, maintaining a healthy diet helps prevent all kinds of conditions.

A saying that, in this case, is true is the relationship between overweight and obesity with glaucoma, since having a high body mass index causes higher intraocular pressure and this can lead to glaucoma.

The WHO reminds us that almost 70% of mental health problems are related to poor nutrition and a lack of vitamins and minerals. Hence the importance of maintaining a nutritious diet, rich in vitamins and nutrients.