Do you know that about 74% of the UK population either wears glasses or has had laser surgery to correct optical defects? That’s shocking right? While we can dive into the multiple reasons for that later in this article, here I have listed a few top foods rich in enough nutrients and antioxidants for maintaining healthy eyes for a very long age. All of them are inexpensive, easily available, can be conveniently incorporated into your daily diet, and can be turned into lip-smacking dishes. Read on.
Healthy foods for the eyes
- Oranges
Vitamin C is the key to eye health and oranges, along with other citrus fruits are abundant with that. Vitamin C ensures healthy blood vessels in the eyes and helps to combat severe eye disorders and diseases.
- Carrots
Carrots contain beta-carotene that acts as a precursor for the production of Vitamin A. While Vitamin A helps to boost eye health, carrots also provide other essential antioxidants like lutein for the eyes.
- Green leafy vegetables
Greens like spinach, kale, and collard greens contain the two most important antioxidants for the eyes – lutein and zeaxanthin. Both of these are stored in the macula, the part of the eye that shields against damaging light.
- Legumes
Kidney beans, lentils, and black beans are rich sources of zinc and bioflavonoids. A large amount of zinc is stored in the eye, that combined with bioflavonoids aids in protecting the retina and lowering the risk of severe diseases like ARMD.
- Bell peppers
Bell peppers are again rich sources of Vitamin C. In fact, they can provide the most amount of this vitamin per calorie than any other fruit or vegetable. And as mentioned above, Vitamin C is imperative for eye health.
Preventing blue light damage
What is blue light?
The sunlight, also known as white light, is a spectrum of seven colors, all of them that you see in the rainbow- Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, and Red. Starting from red and ending on violet, the wavelength of all these colors decreases, and their energy increases. While our eyes have the ability to block more than 90% of the UV rays falling on them, they fail to prevent blue light from entering our eyes. Blue rays move with damagingly high energy and can gradually cause chronic damage to the eye cells, tissues, and parts.
How does blue light damage our eyes?
Cataract: The lens of the human eye can absorb short blue waves to block them from reaching the retina and do light damage. However, during this process, they add substances and derivatives to the lens cells, turning them opaque yellow and thus causing a cataract.
Macular degeneration: The retina of the eyes is very sensitive to light. When blue light rays fall on the retina and its cells, they induce a chain of toxic chemical reactions that damage the retinal tissues. With gradual damage, the eyes develop Age-Related Macular Degeneration. While aging will make you wear varifocals during later years, ARMD is the leading cause of vision loss in the older population of the UK.
Computer Eye Syndrome: Staring into the computer or laptop screen for too long leaves our eyes dry and itchy. Gradually, it develops into the Digital Eye Strain. The symptoms include irritated, dry, itchy, and sore eyes.
Insomnia: Studies also reveal that prolonged exposure to high-intensity blue rays deprives us of sleep. Blue light regulates our sleep cycle by moderating the release of the sleep hormone, melatonin. However, watching screens during bedtime suppresses the production of melatonin and makes our brain more aware and active, thus making us an insomniac.
How to prevent blue light damage?
- Limit screen time. Look away from the screen every 20 minutes.
- Wear reading glasses as they come with a blue light blocking technology to filter blue rays from entering into your eyes.
- When using screens, blink as often as possible to evenly spread the teardrops in your eyes.
- Adjust the brightness of your screen so that is not too bright as compared to the room.
- Add a humidifier under your table to keep the air moist and thus prevent dry eyes.
- Use artificial tears to lubricate your dry eyes after long screen hours.
If you are looking for blue light blocking specs online, you can check Specscart’s website for a good variety of latest designs and premium quality glasses at an extremely affordable price range.
