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Oh, those aging eyes! If you’re a senior you know that your eyesight can age right along with the rest of your body. But, courtesy of AARP, here’s a list of foods you can eat to keep your eyes healthy, no matter your age. They are:
1. Tuna — It’s the omega-3 fatty acids in tuna that help fight age-related macular degeneration. But don’t stop with tuna — other foods, like wild-caught salmon and sardines. Just remember: You can’t substitute animal omega-3s with plant-based sources, as most of the health benefits that you can get from omega-3 fats are linked to animal-based EPA and DHA fats – not plant-based ALA. They are simply NOT interchangeable.
2. Blueberries — Antioxidants are the bountiful goodies in blueberries, and they aren’t limited to blueberries alone. You can also get retina protection from lots of dark-hued foods that come in varying shades of purples, reds and blues, from grapes to blackberries and more.
3. Dark chocolate — Good news! You can “see” your way to better eye health with a few bites of dark chocolate, which contains flavonoids that protect visual clarity and contrast sensitivity, while warding off glaucoma. When choosing chocolate, go for the darker the better, as milk chocolate is often mostly sugar. If you want a healthy recipe for a chocolate dessert you can make yourself, try this chocolate fat bomb recipe, which also happens to be full of healthy fats.
4. Spinach — Spinach, kale and other dark leafy greens are full of lutein and zeaxanthin, which help your eyes filter blue light.
5. Eggs — Who doesn’t want to add an egg to their daily diet? Once wrongly vilified for their cholesterol content, eggs now have an all-clear for everyone, even those on a low cholesterol diet. Even better, eggs have lutein and zeaxanthin in them, too, as well as vitamin D.
6. Oysters — Oysters have zinc in them, and zinc has been shown to help with poor night vision, and to help slow macular degeneration, an age-related eye disease. Other foods with zinc in them include beef, other shellfish, nuts, dairy and eggs.
7. Hot tea — An observational study of 1,600 adults showed that those who drank hot tea every day on average were less likely to develop glaucoma, another age-related eye disease. While there isn’t much else to support hot tea’s benefits for your eyes, if you drink certain herbal teas, you may get some overall extra health benefits.
8. Oranges — Of course you knew oranges are full of vitamin C. But you were aware that this vitamin is a huge protector of eye health? Not only that, vitamin C’s benefits go head to toe: New research even shows that it may keep certain cancers at bay. Other foods with healthy amounts of vitamin C in them include chili peppers, broccoli, pineapple, green peppers, Brussels sprouts, strawberries, cauliflower and papaya.
9. Sunflower seeds — It’s the vitamin E in sunflower seeds that has shown potential in lowering your risk for cataracts. Along with almonds, hazelnuts and peanut butter, you can crunch your way to health with these seeds.
10. Carrots — Carrots are famous for eye health because of the vitamin A/beta carotene content, which is also plentiful in sweet potatoes and cantaloupes.
Another really important dietary aspect for maintaining good eye health is to normalize your blood sugar, as excessive sugar in your blood can pull fluid from the lens of your eye, affecting your ability to focus. It can also damage the blood vessels in your retina, thereby obstructing blood flow.