Top 10 Foods to Eat for Healthy Eyes

While most people think of the foods they eat if they are suffering from digestive issues, few people consider how the foods they eat can keep their eyes and vision healthy for life. But the right foods can make a difference between strong and healthy eyes or a tendency toward eye disorders later in life.

Here are my top 10 picks for healthy eyes and eyesight:

APRICOTS

When it comes to eye health you’ll want to indulge in a handful of fresh or dried apricots. These mostly-overlooked nutritional powerhouses contain a wide variety of nutrients needed for healthy eyesight, including: alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lutein, rutin and zeaxanthin—the latter of which has been found to prevent age-related macular degeneration. Be sure to choose unsulphured varieties of dried aprictos.

BLACKBERRIES

Nutrients like alpha-carotene and anthocyanins give blackberries their gorgeous color but also help to protect the eyes against harmful free radicals. The nutrient rutin improves eye health and helps strengthen blood vessels to the eyes. 

BLUEBERRIES

Not just delicious, these nutritional superfoods are demonstrating their ability to protect the eyes against free radical damage. In research in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, the compounds that give them their delightful color, anthocyanins, are showing their ability to help protect against age-related macular degeneration.

BROCCOLI

Now there’s more reason than ever to eat your broccoli, thanks to their rich source of eye-protecting nutrients that include: alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lutein, rutin and zeaxanthin.

CARROTS

No discussion on foods for eye health would be complete without mentioning carrots. Thanks to being a rich source in nutrients like alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin, carrots should be a regular part of your diet. Other orange-colored foods like mangoes, peaches, pumpkins, squash and sweet potatoes are also rich in these nutrients.

CHIA AND FLAX SEEDS

Rich in Omega 3s and vitamin E, these nutrients help to reduce inflammation and free radicals which are precursors to eye conditions. 

GRAPEFRUIT

One of the few foods high in a little-known nutrient known as naringin that helps with a wide variety of eye disorders, grapefruit is an excellent addition to your diet. Grapefruit also contains the nutrient rutin, although you will need to eat some of the white pith surrounding the fruit (not the skin) to get more rutin in your diet. High in vitamin C, grapefruit also helps to protect your eyes from damaging free radicals.

GREEN TEA

Research in the medical journal Current Eye Research found that one of green tea’s medicinal compounds known as epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) has a profound eye-protecting ability. It even helped prevent cataract formation.

LEAFY GREENS

When it comes to eye health, few foods can compare to leafy greens like collards, kale and spinach. That’s because they contain a wide variety of eye-protecting and eye-healing nutrients, some of which include: alpha-carotene, alpha lipoic acid, beta-carotene, lutein, lutein and zeaxanthin.

NUTS

High in vitamin E and a source of the eye-healing nutrient rutin, nuts like raw, unsalted Brazil nuts, cashews and walnuts can be an excellent addition to your diet. Vitamin E helps to protect the eyes against harmful free radicals.