Eat your way to better eyesight

They are two of your most precious possessions, but chances are, you take your eyes for granted.

Think for a second what life would be like without being able to look at your child or even

navigate the kitchen without incident.

Your vision provides as much as 80 percent of your sensory input and you want to preserve it at

any cost; because it has an enormous impact on your quality of life. Unfortunately, you have a

couple of conditions working to erode your eyesight. Cataracts are the chief cause of vision loss

in both developing and developed countries and are the leading cause of blindness worldwide.

As if that weren't enough, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) has become the bane of the

"golden years"; currently affecting millions of elderly around the world.

There are several foods that can work to prevent and improve vision:

Use vitamins as a first line of defense. Vitamins A, B, C and E play vital roles in eye

health. You can get plenty of these vitamins if you are smart about food choices.

Incorporate sulfur-containing foods into your diet as it is an eye-supportive antioxidant

that works as a major free-radical scavenger in the human lens. It is found in foods like

onions, garlic, avocados, cruciferous vegetables, asparagus, and watermelon; all of which

you should eat to your heart's content.

Learn to love the egg yolk. Lutein and zeaxanthin are sibling antioxidants which are

found abundantly in egg yolks. Because they are fat-soluble, make sure your diet includes

adequate amounts of healthy fats.

Get amino acids like Taurine in your diet. It is an interesting amino acid, because it is the

only one that circulates freely on its own through your bloodstream and tissues. Capable

of truly multitasking in the body, it is the most abundant amino acid in the retina and is

known to protect the eye from toxins and improve sight. Taurine can be found naturally

in fresh fish and meat.

Choose mineral rich foods as they are necessary for eye health. The retina has some of

the highest concentrations of zinc found in the body. Zinc is found primarily in meat,

poultry, fish and oysters. Magnesium, which supports healthy blood flow to the eye, is

found in leafy green vegetables and a variety of nuts.

http://www.janetgoodrichmethod.com/