By Marcey Klein BS, NC
Our eyes are so crucial and important for us, usually working overtime to meet our needs, yet, we abuse and neglect them all too often. They need to be exercised, nourished and loved for all the work they do for us.
Our eyes need to be exercised like the rest of our bodies to enhance peripheral vision and to strengthen them. I have recently started doing eye exercises every day and have noticed benefits. With your eyes open, you do 3 sets of figure eights in one direction, switch directions, then continue with zig zags, up and downs, and left to right. I find that this really helps relieve eye strain and eye headaches. Another great exercise is to focus on something nearby, then look at something in the distance, and keep focusing on things further and further away.
Nutrition is also incredibly important for eye health. Vitamin A plays an important part in the health of our rods which oversee our night time vision. Therefore, it’s really important for us to eat our carotenoids which our body will convert to vitamin A. These foods are rich in pigments like red, orange, yellow, and green. So the foods we want to ingest are pretty and vibrant: cantaloupe, sweet potatoes, squash, dark leafy greens, carrots, tomatoes, apricots, and pumpkin. When we cook vegetables and put oil on them, it actually helps us with absorption since beta carotene is fat soluble.
Vitamin C is also a crucial antioxidant for eye health and for preventing cataracts. I like to take 1000mg per day with bioflavonoids which increase absorption as a health insurance policy since vitamin C is also important in cardiovascular health, cancer prevention, and skin health. Foods that are rich in this nutrient are raspberries, citrus fruits, red peppers, broccoli, strawberries, grapefruit, and kale.
Hydration is also very important in eye health as it keeps our tears nice and fluid. Tears are necessary for lubricating our eyes, keeping our vision clear and washing away debris which helps prevent the development of eye infections. We need to drink 8×8 oz glasses a day, or half our weight in ounces a day. What I do is drink a nice big glass of water upon waking, then I keep a water bottle with me at all times which I refill with purified water (no tap water please!) The more water you drink, the more you will want to drink, your body knows what it needs. If you want to make your water taste delicious so you will drink more, just throw in a tea bag that will give it a slightly sweet or fruity flavor.
Good oils are important for our eyes, especially DHA from cold water fatty fish. Our eyes utilize DHA since it is a major structural and functional fat in eye health. You can receive enough of this fat from 3 sardines a day, by eating fatty fish like salmon, cod, mackerel, and herring, or by taking a 1000 mg supplement a day. I also take a tablespoon of flax oil daily, some coconut oil, and vitamin E. In my book, the more oils we have the better, since our cell membranes are made up of fats, our hormones need fat to be made, we need fats to absorb our fat soluble vitamins, and our brain is comprised of fat, we just need fat!
On a last note, antioxidants in general will help us with keeping the fragile components in the eye running properly. Also, keeping our blood sugars in a normal range will help, as excess sugars in our blood can cause damage to those fragile capillaries in our eyes. That means watching our intake of refined sugars from sodas, pastries, alcohol, and desserts. We also want to keep the free radicals that are coming in check. Smoking is the worst offender, but also abusing acetaminophen which decreases the most potent antioxidant in our bodies called glutathione, can leave our eyes susceptible.
Healthy eating and supplementing well benefit us in more ways than one, take care of your body, and your body will take care of you. Please come into Wild Roots if you have any further questions, or would like to check out supplements and foods to support your eye. Thank you and be well!
