More and more research is drawing direct links between healthy eating and healthy vision, along with health in many other parts of the body
My mother used to say that vegetables are good for you and carrots help you see better. But is it true? Put simply – yes. More accurately, our bodies use the beta-carotene and vitamin A to produce some of the fluids our eyes need to work properly.
A large scale study by the U.S. National Eye Institute (nei.nih.gov) found a far lower incidence of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in people whose diet was rich in dark green leafy vegetables.
The same study, with the catchy title: Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS), also examined dietary supplements. The researchers used a daily cocktail of 500 milligrams of vitamin C; 400 international units of vitamin E; 15 milligrams of beta-carotene; 80 milligrams of zinc as zinc oxide; and two milligrams of copper as cupric oxide. What they found was significant. - antioxidants plus zinc reduced risk of developing advanced AMD by about 25 per cent and reduced risk of vision loss by about 19 per cent.
A note of caution here: the study was conducted under close medical supervision, so don’t start self-medicating without proper medical advice. Also, the study is inconclusive on the effects of this cocktail on cataracts. However, the research is of sufficient scope (4,757 participants, aged 55-80 years) to be considered important.
There is also considerable research in other areas of nutrition. Eyes are said to be "windows of the soul," but they may also be a window into our circulatory system. Poor circulation is linked to a great many vision problems. Thus, information on nutrition and managing conditions such as high blood pressure may be relevant. In fact, if you read some of the dietary advice for "eye health" it looks a lot like the advice for heart health – low fat, low cholesterol, high fibre.
Other nutritional recommendations bear a close resemblance to those that are associated with reducing cancer risk. For example (over and above carrots), Lighthouse International recommends foods that are high in anti-oxidants. It lists corn, kiwi, pumpkin, zucchini squash, yellow squash, butternut squash, red grapes, green peas, cucumber, green bell peppers, celery, cantaloupes, sweet potatoes and dried apricots as "eye healthy foods."
With so much scientific and dietary information out there, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. But when you trim away the fancy terms, it’s quite straightforward and much like the advice that any mother would give. "Everything in moderation… and don’t forget to eat your greens."