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Nutrition and Your Eyes – How Antioxidants Can Save Your Vision

Author | 28.08.2007 | Category Eye Nutrition

When you think of the benefits of eating healthily, you probably think of strong muscles, sturdy bones, and high energy levels.  However, good nutrition can also be the key to saving your eyesight.  The same diet regimen that has been shown to reduce the risk of cancer can also dramatically lower your chances of contracting the number-one cause of blindness - macular degeneration.

The nutrients that are most effective at reducing the risk of contracting macular degeneration as you age are known as antioxidants.  Oxidation is the chemical process that causes iron to rust, fruit to brown when exposed to air, and oil to turn rancid.  The same process occurs in our own bodies, when molecules called free radicals strip electrons from other molecules in our bodies, damaging otherwise healthy cells.

Free radicals are a natural result of our metabolic processes, and are impossible to avoid altogether.  However, they are countered by antioxidant nutrients in our bodies.  They only do real harm when the level of free radicals outpaces the amount of antioxidants in our system.

Remember when your parents told you that eating carrots is good for your eyes?  It turns out, they were absolutely right.  Carrots and other orange vegetables are a vital source of eye-healthy antioxidants.  So is spinach, as well as other leafy green vegetables. Diets that are high in polyunsaturated fats and sugars can greatly increase your chances of getting macular degeneration. 

A five year study showed that people who consume high levels of antioxidants have only 25% of the risk of contracting macular degeneration, and resulting blindness, when compared to a study group.

Some of the most important antioxidants when it comes to our eyesight are the vitamins C and E, beta carotene, and the mineral zinc.