The great news about sticking to food that benefits your heart and brain is that your eyes will benefit, too, without any special additions or deletions to the healthy diet you have already chosen.
So if you are nutritionally sound already, you don’t have to do anything extra to protect your eye health.
The cautionary news is that the things your doctor tells you to stay away from – sugar, fats and other good-tasting items – can also harm your eyes if you over-indulge.
The American Academy of Ophthalmology has investigated how food affects your eyes, and it came up with a list of 36 vision-healthy foods, featuring fruits, vegetables, beans and fish.
Harvard Medical School promotes a similar eye-healthy diet, with an added focus on yellow and orange fruits and vegetables, plus egg yolks. They feature antioxidant vitamins and minerals (A, C, and E, and the mineral zinc). Although there is not yet solid proof, studies have suggested that these vitamins and minerals may help prevent the progression of macular degeneration and cataracts.
As the Academy of Ophthalmology points out, it is no surprise that a diet to help your heart would also help your eyes. Tiny arteries provide oxygen-filled blood to eyes, a key to their health.
Like Harvard, the eye physicians recommend fruits and vegetables high in vitamin C, including:
Oranges
Tangerines
Grapefruit
Peaches
Red bell peppers
Tomatoes
Strawberries
Vitamin E, an anti-oxidant, may help prevent or delay macular degeneration and cataracts, according to an Age-related Eye Diseases Study, first conducted in 2001 and updated in 2011.
Vitamin E is found in:
Avocados
Almonds
Sunflower seeds.
Omega-3 fatty acids, as you no doubt have already heard, are considered heart-healthy because they lower bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol. That trait is good for eye health as well. The best fish to supply these chemicals:
Salmon
Tuna
Halibut
Trout
Sardines
Beans and legumes offer zinc, which may help your eyes reduce the harmful effects of natural light. (You should also always wear sunglasses that block all ultraviolet rays when enjoying the outdoors.) Excellent sources of zinc that are also easy to find in the grocery store are:
Black-eyed peas
Kidney beans
Lima beans
Another plus to eating healthy is this: You don’t need to buy bottled vitamins and minerals. An exception is made for those who already have macular degeneration. In that case, your doctor will probably recommend supplements.
There is a flip side to eating to support the healthy functioning of all parts of your body. You can make yourself – and specifically your eyes – sick by indulging in the usual suspects:
Instead of fat-filled mayonnaise, try a squirt of lemon juice to spice up your next sandwich.
Fill up with whole grains breads and even pasta instead of carbohydrates based on white flour.
Keep your intake of red meat and sausage to a minimum
Keep your hand away from the French fries and potato chips. Skip the bowl of ice cream. Instead, enjoy an apple and a single cookie for dessert
Your eyes will thank you, and you will be thankful for the extra years of eye health you will enjoy.