You may find that as you age, your eyesight weakens. You may become more vulnerable to conditions such as cataracts, macular degeneration and glaucoma. If you're at risk for one of these eye diseases, take steps to prevent them. There are a number of simple but effective methods that can protect and improve eyesight.
Instructions
1. Keep your blood pressure down. Elevated blood pressure can damage blood vessels, which can be a factor in blindness. Cut out salty, fried, sugary, fatty and processed foods. Exercise also helps keep blood pressure within a healthy range.
2. Get at least 150 mg of vitamin C daily. Supplementing with vitamin C can aid in staving off cataracts. You can usually get enough vitamin C from a multivitamin.
3. Drink an 8 oz. glass of fresh carrot juice two to three times each day. The juice contains beta-carotene, known for helping eye health. If you don't have a juicer at home, find carrot juice at health food stores.
4. Eat spinach. Adding this green leafy veggie to your diet can be very beneficial in improving your vision, because it contains lutein, an important antioxidant. You can eat spinach raw as part of a salad or cook it by steaming.
5. Chow down on some collard greens. For individuals who dislike the taste of spinach, collards may be an acceptable substitute; they also contain the eye-protecting compound lutein. Intensify their effectiveness by adding some chopped red onion to the greens. The onion contains the antioxidant quercetin and also helps to protect your eyes.
6. Enjoy some chocolate. It has to be the right kind of chocolate, though. Dark chocolate has flavanoids that contribute to keeping the vessels of your eyes in good condition. Ideally, choose sugar-free chocolate with a 60 to 70 percent cacao content.
7. Keep your eyes healthy with bilberry supplements. Bilberry comes from a shrub common to certain parts of Northern Europe and contains anthocyanosides, which help remove toxins from the retina. Avoid bilberry, however, if you are taking blood thinners, aspirin or anti-diabetic medications.
8. Include omega-3 fatty fish to your diet. Eating just two servings every week of tuna, sardines, salmon or mackerel can aid in keeping your eyes healthy. If you dislike the taste of fish, you can buy Omega-3 fatty acid supplements at health food stores.
9. Avoid subjecting your eyes to too much sunlight. Whenever you go out during the day, wear sunglasses and a hat with a wide brim.
10. Do eye-strengthening exercises. These can maintain or improve your sight and should be done regularly. You can find free examples of simple eye exercises by visiting websites such as http://health.learninginfo.org/eye-strengthening-exercises.htm.
Tags: your eyes, blood pressure, also helps, carrot juice, dislike taste, eyes healthy, food stores