HEALTHY FOOD CHOICES
Nutritious meals can help you maintain a healthy weight and play a major role in your eye health. Eating foods high in antioxidants can impact your vision and protect your eyes from certain eye diseases.
Consume plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, and look for foods high in beta carotene. Research has been found that beta carotene is an important nutrient that supports eye health and can be found in carrots, sweet potatoes, and other foods with orange pigmentation. Beta carotene can help prevent cataracts and age-related macular degeneration.
Zeaxanthin and lutein are two other nutrients that can play a role in your eye health, and these nutrients can often be found in eggs and dark green, leafy vegetables. Similar to the effects of beta-carotene, these nutrients also protect your health against chronic eye conditions.
Stick with whole foods, natural ingredients, and healthy meals. Your meal planning should be focused around fruits and vegetables, lean protein, whole grains, and essential fatty acids. Stay away from processed foods, junk foods, and fast foods, since these meal choices are often high in “bad” fats that can have a negative impact on your overall health.
STOP SMOKING
Smoking can be a difficult habit to break, but is an important change to make since smoking can have a direct impact on the health of your eyes. Smoking can increase the risk for a variety of eye diseases, including dry eye, diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, and cataracts. Doctors have found that smoking causes changes in eyes similar to those associated with early-stage glaucoma. If you want to protect your eyesight, you need to stop smoking.
EXERCISE
Even though exercise doesn’t seem like it would impact your eye health, there is a direct link between regular exercise and healthy eyes. The American Academy of Ophthalmology has revealed that exercising regularly can help decrease the risk for cataracts and age-related macular degeneration.
Exercising regularly can also help improve and maintain cardiovascular health, which can also impact the health of your eyes. There are small blood vessels that run through your eyes, and you can protect these blood vessels by following a regular exercise routine and maintaining a healthy heart.
Call Silverstein Eye Centers today to make an appointment for an eye exam.