Foods to Promote Healthy Eyes

Eating a healthy diet with a wide variety of food from all the food groups will help ensure you are getting adequate nutrients to nourish your eyes. Important nutrients to include in your diet to help maintain eye health are vitamin A and its precursors like beta-carotene, as well as the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin. Vitamin A is found in foods like liver and fish liver oils, egg yolks and whole milk.

Beta-carotene is found in colorful plant-based foods including carrots, sweet potatoes, and leafy green vegetables. Leafy green vegetables provide lutein as well, and zeaxanthin can be found in orange-colored plant-based foods like orange peppers, corn, and mangoes.

Dietary supplements are another easy way to ensure you are getting enough of these eye nourishing nutrients every day.^*

Our team of scientists has rounded up some of their favorite nutrients to support eye health.^*

Vitamin A

Were you ever told as a child to eat all of your carrots because they were good for your eyesight? Your parents may have just been trying to get you to eat your vegetables but it turns out there is some truth to this popular adage. Carrots provide vitamin A which is essential for good vision.^*

The retina of the eye contains specialized cells called photoreceptors which are responsible for detecting light and in turn sending a signal to the brain which is eventually converted into an image. There are two different types of photoreceptors, ones that are particularly good at seeing colors in bright light and others that see greyscale images in dim light. Vitamin A is an essential component of the signaling process that occurs in the visual cycle for color vision and low-light vision.* As such, vitamin A is important for maintaining healthy vision and nutritionally supports eye health.^*

Vitamin A can be found in both plant- and animal-based foods. In animal foods, vitamin A is found in a form that is readily used by the body. Animal-based sources of vitamin A include liver and fish liver oils, eggs, and whole milk. Many plant foods contain vitamin A precursors such as beta-carotene that must be converted to bioactive forms of vitamin A in the body. These include many colorful fruits and vegetables like sweet potatoes, carrots and mangoes, as well as leafy green vegetables.

Dietary intake data shows that almost 60% of Americans do not get enough vitamin A from food alone.⁵

Lutein/Zeaxanthin

Lutein (pronounced loo-teen) and zeaxanthin (pronounced zee-uh-zan-thin) are types of pigments found in plants called carotenoids. Carotenoids are what give many fruits and vegetables their bright red, orange and yellow colors. The name lutein actually comes from the Latin word luteus which literally means yellow. Carotenoids play vital roles in the growth and safety of many different plants but when they are consumed in a healthy diet, they offer benefits to humans as well.^*

Even though they cannot be produced in the body, lutein and zeaxanthin from the diet are stored in the eyes. In fact, lutein and zeaxanthin are the only carotenoids found in appreciable levels in the macula.³ The macula is the area of the retina with a high concentration of specialized photoreceptor cells and is responsible for sharp focus on objects straight in front of you. With so much light entering the eye, and the cellular activity of sending these visual signals to the brain, the retina is an area of high oxidative stress.

Lutein helps filter out high energy blue light from the sun and artificial light before it reaches those important photoreceptor cells.^* Blue light may otherwise induce oxidative stress and possible free-radical damage to the eyes. Zeaxanthin is preferentially placed in the very center of the macula. This is the area most responsible for sharp, central vision. Due to this positioning, zeaxanthin may provide additional benefits to lutein supplements for eye health.^* Lutein and zeaxanthin both nutritionally support the health of your eyes to support healthy vision.^*

Lutein and Zeaxanthin are not made in the body so they must be obtained through the diet. Dark leafy green vegetables are particularly good sources of lutein and it can also be found in small amounts in egg yolks and avocados.⁶ Dietary sources of zeaxanthin include many orange-colored foods such mangoes, orange juice, corn, and orange peppers.⁶ On average, Americans are estimated to get less than 2mg of lutein per day through food alone⁷ and the lutein: zeaxanthin ratio in the diet is about 5:1.

Bilberry

Bilberry is a woody, perennial shrub that is related to blueberries and cranberries. The name bilberry comes from the Danish word bollebar meaning "dark berry" and describes the shrub’s dark indigo berries. The use of these berries in traditional health practices dates back to at least the Middle Ages.⁸

Throughout Europe, bilberry was used for a variety of health purposes but its popularity for eye health was established during World War II. British Royal Airforce pilots would consume bilberry jam before flying in the dark as a traditional way to support eye health.^*

Bilberry fruits are sold as fresh, frozen, or dried whole berries. While these berries can make a great addition to a healthy diet, it can be difficult to rely on eating enough bilberry fruits every day to reap all of their eye health benefits.^* A standardized bilberry fruit can ensure you are getting the proper amount of the active components found within these fruits to help maintain healthy eye function.^*

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 Source puritan.com