5 Natural Ways to Improve Your Eyesight
Here at FOCUS eye centre we encourage you to follow our five natural ways to improve your eyesight.
1. Get enough key vitamins and minerals
Vitamins A, C, E, and mineral zinc, contain antioxidants that can help prevent macular degeneration. Macular degeneration is a condition in which the macula deteriorates.
These nutrients can be found in vegetables and fruits, such as:
- Carrots
- Mangoes
- Spinach
- Kiwi
- Strawberries
- Red peppers
- Broccoli
- Sweet potato
- Citrus
We also recommend foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon, walnuts, sardines, tuna and flaxseed for better eye health.
Don’t forget the carotenoids
Lutein and zeaxanthin can also improve your eyesight. Eat leafy green vegetables, broccoli, brussels sprouts, corn, nectarines, oranges, squash, zucchini, and eggs to improve your eyesight.
Lutein and zeaxanthin can also be taken in supplement form. These carotenoids help protect the macula by improving pigment density in that part of the eye and absorbing ultraviolent and blue light.
2. Stay fit
Exercise and maintaining a healthy body can improve your eyesight. Diabetic retinopathy is a complication of diabetes that affects the eyes.
Diabetic retinopathy is caused by damage to the blood vessels in the tissue at the back of the eye. Poorly controlled blood sugar is a risk factor.
Checking your blood sugar levels regularly and staying fit can lower your odds of developing type 2 diabetes and its many complications.
3. Manage chronic conditions
High blood pressure and multiple sclerosis can affect your eyesight. These conditions are linked to chronic inflammation.
Inflammation of the optic nerve can cause pain and even complete vision loss. Multiple sclerosis cannot be prevented however, you can try to manage it with healthy habits and medications.
High blood pressure can be effectively treated with a heart-healthy diet, exercise and antihypertensive medications.
4. Wear protective eyewear
Wear tough, protective eyewear if there is a possibility of chemicals, sharp objects, or materials making eye contact with you.
Most protective goggles are made with a type of polycarbonate, which is ten times tougher than other forms of plastic.
That includes sunglasses
Sunglasses are cool and the right sunglasses can block out 99 percent of UVA and UVB radiation.
Sunglasses can protect your eyes from conditions that stem from eye damage, such as; cataracts, macular degeneration, and pterygium.
Wearing a wide-brimmed hat can also help protect your eyes from sun damage.
5. Follow the 20-20-20 rule
Your eyes work very hard and need a break now and then. The strain can be especially intense if you work at a computer for long stretches at a time. To ease the strain, follow the 20-20-20 rule.
Every 20 minutes stop staring at your computer and look focus on something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
Most of us do not associate eating vegetables, managing chronic conditions and resting our eyes as key steps toward avoiding eye problems and improving our vision, but they all play a role.
