Ocular Nutrition

Eating a healthy diet and getting generous servings of essential vitamins help keep our bodies running healthy. Each part of the body benefits from different vitamins and minerals, and the eyes are no different. They too benefit from a diet high in vitamins like A, C and E, as well as minerals and carotenoids.

Vitamin A

• Vitamin A is essential in maintaining proper function of the retina and can be found in carrots, spinach, liver and eggs. Vitamin A is beneficial to eyes in many ways such as helping prevent night blindness, helping the eye adapt between bright light and darkness and reducing risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and cataracts.

Vitamin C

• Vitamin C is known as the all-purpose vitamin because it helps our bodies in number of ways and keeps our immune system strong. It has antioxidant properties that help helps reduce the risk of AMD and cataracts. Vitamin C is found in citrus fruits, green peppers, strawberries, broccoli and sweet potatoes.

Vitamin E

• Vitamin E is another vitamin packed with antioxidant properties that helps prevent AMD and cataracts from forming. Vitamin E can be found in green leafy vegetables, a variety of nuts and cereals fortified with vitamins and minerals.

Selenium and Zinc

• Vitamins are not the only supplements that can help keep eyes healthy; selenium and zinc are two minerals that help the body absorb all the antioxidants you are consuming, which helps your body benefit the most from them. Zinc can be found in cheese, yogurt, red meat and pork. Selenium can be found in walnuts and enriched breads, rice and noodles.

Lutein and Zeaxanthin

• Lutein and Zeaxanthin are carotenoids which help keep the retina healthy, strong and fully functional. Lutein is found in yellow peppers, mango and green leafy vegetables like kale, spinach, chard and broccoli, while zeaxanthin is found in orange peppers, broccoli, corn, romaine lettuce, spinach, tangerines, oranges and eggs.