Keeping your eyes and vision healthy is always important, regardless of your age. But as we get older, maintaining eye health becomes increasingly essential as we are more at risk for a number of age-related eye conditions, such as glaucoma, cataracts, age-related macular degeneration and presbyopia.
On top of this, our eyes and vision also experience more subtle changes as we age. They include dry eye, a normal loss of peripheral vision and a reduced pupil size causing less responsiveness to changes in ambient lighting.
Thankfully, although eye and vision problems become more prevalent as we age, many can be prevented or corrected.
Here are a few things you can do now to ensure that your eyes stay healthy and vision remains clear for years to come.
Eat Healthy
Good nutrition is as important for your body as it is for your eyes. In fact, the risk for eye problems can often be reduced by paying close attention to what (and how much) you eat.
Consuming a diet with nutrients like omega-3, lutein, vitamins C and E and zinc, can help ward off age-related vision conditions. To give you an idea of the type of foods that have the nutrients you need to keep your eyes healthy, here’s a brief list.
Green leafy vegetables (kale, spinach, collard greens)
Root vegetables (sweet potatoes, beets, carrots)
Nuts and legumes (walnuts, Brazil nuts, lentils)
Seeds (flax seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds)
Citrus fruits (oranges, lemons, grapefruits)
Fish (salmon, tuna, mackerel)
Meat (beef, chicken breast, pork loin)
