eye nutrition

A healthy well-balanced diet is of great importance if you wish to maintain or improve your vision. Base your diet on wholefoods, eating plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts and dairy products and keep tea, coffee and refined sugars to an absolute minimum. You will then be well on your way to improving not only your vision, but your health in general as well. Certain vitamins and minerals are of particular importance to your eyes:-

Vitamin A is helpful for many types of eye problem including poor vision in dim light or at night. Good food sources are: fish liver oil, liver, carrots, egg, cheese, butter, margarine, milk, green vegetables, yellow and orange fruits and vegetables.

B complex is required by the eyes to keep them healthy. A deficiency of B2 can lead to bloodshot, burning or gritty feeling eyes, cataracts and sensitivity to bright lights. Good food sources are, brewer's yeast, yeast extract, wheatgerm, wholegrain cereals.

Vitamin C has been found to be helpful in the prevention of cataracts and glaucoma. High concentrations of vitamin C are found in heealthy eyes. good food sources are: citrus fruits, other fruits including tomatoes, green vegetables, potatoes.

Vitamin E is needed to prevent cataracts. It helps to keep the blood vessels and retina healthy. Good food sources are: wheatgerm, vegetable oils, wholegrain bread and cereals, green vegtables.

Selenium helps to prevent cataracts and to slow the ageing of the eye. Good food sources are: fish and shellfish, sesame and sunflower seeds, wholegrain cereals.

Zinc is required in a high concentration for the retina to function properly. Zinc is also required to release vitamin A from the liver for use by the eyes. Good food sources are: shelfish, liver, red meats, eggs, sardines, nuts and seeds.