6 Easy Ways to Keep Your Eyes Healthy
Category: Healthy Body
More than 3.3 million Americans aged 40 years and older are either legally blind
or have poor vision.
The leading causes of these conditions are primarily age-related eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, and glaucoma.
There are pharmaceutical options and surgical procedures available for some of these eye conditions, but many people are turning to nutrition and lifestyle approaches to keep
their eyes healthy.
What Can You Do to Protect Your Eyes?
1. Eat right
Good eye health starts with the food on your plate. To get the nutrients you need to ward off age-related vision problems, you should include the following in your diet:
- Green leafy vegetables like spinach, kale, and collards
- Salmon, tuna, and other oily fish
- Eggs, nuts, beans, and other non-meat protein sources
- Oranges and other citrus fruits or juices
- Oysters and pork
A well-balanced diet also helps you maintain a healthy weight. This lowers your risk of obesity and related diseases like type 2 diabetes, which is the leading cause of blindness in adults.
2. Quit smoking
Smoking cigarettes makes your eyes more prone to cataracts, optic nerve damage,
and macular degeneration.
This is just the icing on top of the cake of health problems you can get from this bad habit, and you'll be doing your body a huge favor by quitting.
3. Limit sun exposure
Too much exposure to the sun's ultraviolet (UV) rays can increase your chances of developing cataracts and macular degeneration.
Using a pair of sunglasses can protect your eyes from damage. Wide-brimmed hats and other common sense approaches also offer protection.
And remember, no staring into the sun during partial eclipses!
4. Take frequent breaks from staring at a screen
Staring at a TV, computer, tablet, or phone screen for too long can cause eyestrain, blurry vision, dry eyes, and other issues.
To prevent this, use the 20/20/20 rule. Take a break every 20 minutes to stare at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
5. Visit your eye doctor regularly
Both optometrists and ophthalmologists can provide general eye care and treat eye diseases, but only the latter can do surgeries.
People of all ages should get a regular eye exam from either specialist to detect problems early on when they're easier to treat.
6. Use supplements
People often don't get enough of nutrients that have been shown to be beneficial to eye health.
Supplements can help close these nutrient gaps.
This isn't just for older folks either. For example, certain carotenoids have been shown to improve vision in young baseball players.
There's no question that nutrition supports eye health across the age range.
CarotoMax
Shaklee's CarotoMax provides all six of the most important carotenoids—potent, fat-soluble antioxidants—that promote long-term eye health.
These carotenoids also help protect cells against attack from free radicals, supporting overall wellness.
1. Beta-Carotene
A large, long-term clinical trial using supplemental vitamin C (500 mg), vitamin E (400 IU), beta-carotene (15 mg), zinc oxide (80 mg), and cupric oxide (2 mg) daily has shown a dramatic 40% reduction in the risk of developing AMD.
2. Astaxanthin
An Italian study showed that adequate consumption of astaxanthin may improve eye health and visual acuity by increasing blood flow in the eye while preventing AMD.
3. Lycopene
Like the other carotenoids, lycopene acts as an antioxidant to protect cells from oxidative damage. Low consumption of lycopene has shown increased risk of cataracts, which may indicate that lycopene plays a role in normal eye health.
4. Alpha-Carotene
Like beta-carotene, alpha-carotene is also converted by your body into vitamin A. Adequate intake of vitamin A has been found to help prevent night blindness and protect the cornea.
5. Lutein and Zeaxanthin
Studies have shown that the highest concentrations of lutein and zeaxanthin in the body are found in the eyes. These nutrients have been found to possess antioxidant activity and were included in nutrient formulations in large clinical trials that demonstrated nutritional supplements could slow the progression of AMD.
To get the same amount of eye-beneficial nutrients contained in each softgel capsule of CarotoMax, you'll need to eat:
102 servings of bananas
1 serving of salmon
714 servings of apricots
80 servings of raspberries
285 servings of pink grapefruit
"April of 2017, I was diagnosed with a retinal occlusion (also known as stroke of the eye). While in the retinologist’s office, he told me I would need injections in my eye or I would never regain my vision. The average number of injections is 8.
While I waited for the tech to get the room ready, I saw a poster in the waiting room. It listed the kinds of foods you needed to eat to get the nutrients you needed for healthy eyes. Those nutrients were the carotenoids. As the Shaklee family knows, we would have to eat volumes of food to get the nutrients we need.
I knew the CarotoMax had those ingredients in it! Problem solved. I started taking one a day.
In that first 6 months, I had only 3 injections, and have had none since. It’s been 8 months since my last appointment, and my vision continues to improve. Studies on the ingredients in CarotoMax show improved eye health. My vision is better. I know that for a fact!"
- Karen Sullivan
Here's to seeing clearly!
Nancy
