What to eat to preserve your eyesight
Worsening eyesight is an unavoidable part of ageing but we can slow the process. These are the foods and habits that can help.
This year my husband acquired his first pair of glasses. After years of boasting about his perfect 20-20 vision he’d found himself holding books and paperwork further and further away in order to make out the words on the page. Cue a visit to Specsavers.
Was the decline in his eyesight at the age of 47 inevitable or preventable? “The majority of people find that by 50 their near sight begins to go,” says Jack Gormley, an ophthalmologist. This is because the eye loses the ability to focus on close-up objects as we age. The condition, called presbyopia, occurs when the lens inside your eye — which is jelly-like and pliable when you’re young — begins to harden and cannot change shape as easily.
There’s not a lot we can do about this — like saggy necks and wrinkled hands, failing eyesight comes to us all. “Ultimately you’re fighting an ageing process that is unavoidable,” Gormley says.
We can, however, slow the ageing process by eating a balanced diet, not smoking, staying hydrated and wearing sunglasses with proper UV protection. Consuming an adequate amount of certain vitamins can also help.
Thalia Pellegrini, a nutritionist who works with the supplement company Wild Nutrition, advises we focus on the vitamins A, C and E. Vitamin A, found in yellow and orange fruit and vegetables, is vital in protecting the cornea by producing tears and the protein mucin.
Vitamin C, present in brightly coloured fruits and vegetables, boosts the synthesis of collagen, which supports the eye’s structure. Vitamin E, found in sunflower seeds, avocados, olive oil, nuts and egg yolks, protects the eye from free radicals, which attack cells in the retina and lens, contributing to cataracts and a disease called macular degeneration, which can blur your central vision.
Screens are vilified for harming our eyes but there’s no proof that computer use causes any long-term damage to our sight. However, regular use can lead to eye strain, where our eyes get tired and sometimes dry, so taking regular screen breaks is a good idea. Using a blue light filter on your screen can also reduce eye strain.
As we get older there are further challenges: cataracts, macular degeneration and glaucoma are the main causes of loss of vision in adults over 70. Again, there’s not a lot you can do — some people will have a family history of glaucoma, a chronic disease that weakens the optic nerve, and cataracts, a further stiffening of the lens.
“The best thing you can do to protect from macular issues comes back to diet,” Gormley says.
Ditch processed foods and cut down on refined sugar, saturated fats, alcohol and salt, switching them for wholegrains, fruit and veg, fish and healthy fats.
“Otherwise get regular check-ups to have your eye pressure measured and the back of your eyes looked at.”
For cataracts, Gormley advises surgery — “a rapid ten-minute procedure with good outcomes” — as soon as they start to significantly impact your life, for example the ability to drive safely.
Ultimately, however, we can’t really prevent our gradual slide into poor sight. “Until we have a cure for ageing, it’s about a consistent, balanced approach to overall wellbeing,” Gormley says.
Luckily, he adds, medicine continues to innovate. Next stop, bionic eyes?
The Times
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