By H.S. (staff writer) , published on October 07, 2021
Taking care of your eyes is as important as taking care of your body. Your eyes need nutrients too. Our lifestyle greatly depends on what food is on our plate. Maintaining your eye health improves vision. An unbalanced diet could result in various eye problems such as blurry vision. Various ocular conditions such as macular degeneration, glaucoma, and cataracts can be the result of poor nutrition.
Antioxidants have been proven to reduce the risk of eye diseases and improve overall eye health because of their ability to defend your body against free radicals.
Globally, around 250 million people suffer from blurry vision or complete loss of vision because of the high consumption of oxygen that leads to oxidative stress of the eyes [1]. The following are some common eye diseases:
Your body is daily exposed to free radicals as a result of environmental exposure and normal biological functions. Free radicals cause oxidative stress by penetrating your body and making it vulnerable to damage (your eyes aren’t an exception). Antioxidants are the defenders of your body that improve your overall health by neutralizing the effect of free radicals [3].
Antioxidants are good for maintaining the structural integrity of your eyes, such as:
They Protect Your Eyes From Any Disease: Antioxidants have been linked with improved eye health because they protect your eyes against oxidative damage in the retina [4].
They Protect Your Eyes From Harmful Blue Light: Blue light can harm your retina and cause blurry vision. High levels of antioxidants block blue rays and maintain visual health.
References:
Lawrenson JG, Downie LE. Nutrition and Eye Health. Nutr 2019;11. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11092123.
Liu Y-C, Wilkins M, Kim T, Malyugin B, Mehta JS. Cataracts. Lancet 2017;390:600–12. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)30544-5.
Grover AK, Samson SE. Antioxidants and vision health: facts and fiction. Mol Cell Biochem 2014;388:173–83. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11010-013-1908-z.
Fletcher AE. Free Radicals, Antioxidants and Eye Diseases: Evidence from Epidemiological Studies on Cataract and Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Ophthalmic Res 2010;44:191–8. https://doi.org/10.1159/000316476.
Ribaya-Mercado JD, Blumberg JB. Lutein and Zeaxanthin and Their Potential Roles in Disease Prevention. J Am Coll Nutr 2004;23:567S-587S. https://doi.org/10.1080/07315724.2004.10719427.
Carpentier S, Knaus M, Suh M. Associations between Lutein, Zeaxanthin, and Age-Related Macular Degeneration: An Overview. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr 2009;49:313–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/10408390802066979.
Vishwanathan R, Chung M, Johnson EJ. A Systematic Review on Zinc for the Prevention and Treatment of Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2013;54:3985–98. https://doi.org/10.1167/iovs.12-11552.