How to: Superfood Salad for Your Eyes

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Eyesight is one of the most precious senses that we have, so taking care of their health is crucial for an overall healthy, happy body. The good news is that you can keep your eyes healthy, and even stave off cataracts and other eye conditions simply by eating the right things! Just like the heart, the eyes are a muscle and so eating a heart-healthy diet is ideal to maintain the healthy of blood vessels in the eye. That means a diet rich in antioxidants, Vitamins, zinc and beta-carotene, and low in saturated fats is essential. Below we have compiled a helpful list of different eye healthy foods that you should include in your day-to-day diet, and even an easy to follow and tasty salad recipe that’s full of ingredients that will keep your eyes healthy and happy!

Spinach Salad

To help you keep your eyes healthy, we have created a super simple and light salad recipe that’s perfect for spring/summer- and it’s bursting full of flavours too! Take a look at our easy to follow video below to find out how to do it at home for yourself.

eye health

Photo Credits: tablefortwoblog

For the ingredients you’ll need:

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons orange juice
  • 1 teaspoon wholegrain mustard
  • 3 cucumbers
  • 200g spinach
  • 1/2 cup roughly chopped walnuts
  • 200g feta, crumbled

Method:

  1. Make the dressing by whisking olive oil, mustard and orange juice in a bowl until well mixed.
  2. Cut cucumber into chunks or ribbons (depending on your preference). Place in a large bowl and mix with the spinach, walnuts and feta cheese.
  3. Add dressing, toss well. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Serve!

Top Foods for Eye Health

Find out why our salad recipe is so good for your eyes!

Spinach

eye health

Spinach and other dark leafy vegetables are very rich in lutein and zeaxanthin- 2 yellow colored antioxidants that are excellent for eye health. These two antioxidants are actually found in the macula of the eye, which is part of the retina and acts as a sunshield to protect your eyes from UV rays. Lutein and Zeaxanthin also help to absorb blue light, which is harmful to the retina. These antioxdiants can also improve the color contrast ability of your eyes, and help improve vision clarity in the long run. Even more than this, spinach can help prevent and improve degenerative eye diseases such as Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), which affects how well you can perceive detail.

Olive Oil

eye health

The antioxidants in spinach that make it such a powerful eye-health food need oil to be absorbed by the body. That’s why adding olive oil to your salad or food is so great- not only does it help the body to benefit from lutein and zeaxanthin, it is also great for the eyes by itself. Several studies have found that because it is free of trans fats and saturated fats, olive oil helps to prevent retina diseases. Extra Virgin olive oil also contain antioxidants that give the body and the eyes an extra boost.

Walnuts

eye health

Walnuts and other nuts, like almonds, contain a high amount of zinc and Vitamin E, both of which help to decrease the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration and cataracts. Not only does Vitamin help prevent ARMD, it also helps to improve the conditions of those already suffering from ARMD. Just a handful of walnuts provide your body with all the Vitamin E that it needs in a day! Zinc also helps prevent night blindness. Walnuts are not only good for the eyes, it also contains extremely healthy fats that help the body as well.

Oranges

eye health

Carrots are the most famous orange colored food that is associated with eye health. However, the orange pigment in carrots that makes it so beneficial, beta-carotene, is actually found in all other orange colored foods as well. The body converts beta-carotene into Vitamin A, which helps the eye to form and maintain the collagen in the cornea- the eyes’ elasticity. Oranges not only contain beta-carotene, but Vitamin C and flavonoids as well, which work together to help slow down or even prevent the development of cataracts and macular degeneration.

Feta Cheese

eye health

Feta is made from sheep’s milk instead of cow’s milk, which makes it much easier to be absorbed and digested by the body, especially for those with lactose sensitivity. It is much healthier than cow’s cheese, but should still be eaten sparingly since it has high sodium contents. It is also packed full of riboflavin and Vitamin B2, which studies have shown help to reduce the chances of developing age related degenerative eye diseases like cataracts, keratoconus, and glaucoma.

As well as your diet, you can help maintain your eye health by avoiding long periods of eye straining activities such as computer use, getting regular eye checks and sleeping properly to give your eyes time to rest and rejuvenate.

To find out more information related to eye health, head over to our optical center!

 

 

1 COMMENT

  1. It’s really a cool and useful piece of information. I’m satisfied that you shared this helpful information with us.
    Please stay us informed like this. Thank you for sharing.

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