Fruits are the best source of vitamins and minerals. They are full of essential nutrients which are required for good health. Fruits are rich in antioxidants, which help to protect your body against diseases and infections.
Fruits can help improve your vision by increasing the blood flow to the eyes and nourishing them with essential nutrients. Here is a list of fruits which have been proven to have an impact on eye health:
Blueberries: Blueberries can be consumed as juice or dried form, they contain anthocyanins that help prevent macular degeneration and cataracts.
Kiwi fruit: Kiwi fruit contains lutein, zeaxanthin, and beta-cryptoxanthin which prevent macular degeneration and cataracts.
Apples: Apples contain quercetin that protects against glaucoma, macular degeneration and cataracts. Apples also contain vitamin A which helps maintain healthy eye tissue while vitamin C helps prevent free radical damage to cells in the retina.
There is no shortage of vitamin supplements on the market today. But vitamins are not the only way to get nutrients into your body. Fruits and vegetables are also a good source of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
Here are some fruits that can help you improve your eyesight:
Vitamin A-rich foods
Vitamin A helps maintain healthy skin and vision, according to the National Institutes of Health. Low levels of vitamin A can lead to night blindness, dry eyes and other eye problems.
Carrots are one of the best sources of vitamin A because they contain beta-carotene, which our bodies convert into vitamin A. Other good sources include squash, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe and apricots.
Fruit juice for eyesight
Fruit juice provides antioxidants that may help protect against certain types of cataracts and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). However, too much fruit juice may increase your risk for diabetes, obesity and tooth decay because it contains a lot of sugar.
Vitamin A rich foods are carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach and kale.
Vitamin C rich foods include guava, oranges, strawberries, broccoli and kiwi.
Vitamin E rich foods are sunflower seeds, almonds, spinach and avocado.
B complex vitamins that help in eye health include vitamin B1 (thiamine), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B3 (niacin), vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), folic acid and biotin. Vitamin B12 is also good for eye health.
Carrots – Carrots contain beta-carotene which is a form of Vitamin A. The beta-carotene converts into Vitamin A in the body which helps in maintaining healthy eyesight by protecting the retina from light damage.
Sweet Potatoes – Sweet potatoes contain beta-carotene which is converted into Vitamin A in the body to protect our retinas from light damage and maintain healthy eyesight.
Spinach – Spinach contains lutein which is responsible for protecting our retinas from light damage and maintaining healthy eyesight by reducing the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
10. Papaya
Papaya contains a good amount of vitamin A, which is required for the health of your eyes. Vitamin A is a potent antioxidant that helps fight free radicals and protect your eyes from damage by them. It also helps repair damaged tissues in the eye, thereby improving vision.
11. Spinach
Spinach is an excellent source of vitamins A and C, both of which are essential for healthy eyesight. Vitamin C improves blood circulation to your eyes and helps reduce inflammation, while vitamin A plays a key role in maintaining eye tissue elasticity. These vitamins also strengthen capillaries in your retina, ensuring proper nutrient supply to it.
12. Grapefruit
Grapefruit has high levels of vitamin C that help prevent macular degeneration and cataracts, two common causes of blindness in older people. The vitamin also protects against oxidative stress and reduces inflammation around the optic nerve head, thus reducing visual impairment caused due to these conditions. In addition to this, grapefruit also contains antioxidants like lycopene and beta-carotene that help protect the retina from damage caused by free radicals.
13. Broccoli
Broccoli contains high amounts of vitamin C as well as other antioxidants like lutein
Vitamin A is an essential vitamin for good eyesight.
The body can make vitamin A from carotenoids, which are found in plants and some animal-based foods.
Animal sources of vitamin A include liver, milk, butter and cheese. Green leafy vegetables, orange-colored fruits and vegetables and yellow or orange-colored fruit juices are also rich sources of this nutrient.
Vitamin A deficiency can cause night blindness — a condition in which your eyes don’t adapt well to dim light — as well as dryness and redness of the eyes. It can also lead to blurred vision and sensitivity to light.
Vitamin C helps maintain healthy blood vessels in the retina. Vitamin C deficiency leads to white spots on the retina, which may result in vision loss caused by bleeding within the eye (hemorrhagic retinopathy). Vitamin C deficiency may also increase the risk of cataracts forming and worsen other eye problems caused by diabetes mellitus (diabetic retinopathy).
Vitamin A is a nutrient that is critical for the health of your eyes. It helps maintain the health of your cornea and conjunctiva, which are the clear tissues that cover the front surface of your eye and line the eyelids. Vitamin A also keeps tears from evaporating too quickly, which reduces dryness in your eyes.
Vitamin A-Rich Foods
You can get vitamin A from food sources or supplements. Good sources include:
Cod liver oil
Organ meats such as liver and kidney
Dark green vegetables like broccoli, spinach, kale and collard greens
Brightly colored fruits and vegetables such as cantaloupe, mangoes, apricots and watermelon. However, these fruits are high in sugar so limit your intake to one serving per day if you have diabetes or pre-diabetes.