Healthy Holiday Feast Foods That Help Your Eye Care
Eye care doesn’t stop with an annual exam and wearing anti-UV sunglasses in bright light. This holiday season, you can bring it to the dinner table by serving or eating foods that contain eye-healthy nutrients. Many of these foods are also good for the rest of you and are tasty as well, so there’s no need to hold back. Here are some of the top items to send you into the New Year with a good nutritional foundation for your vision:
- Sweet Potatoes – Like carrots, these are loaded with beta-carotene. The difference is that sweet potatoes actually do taste sweet, so they’re often better-received by all ages.
- Romaine Lettuce – It may be a surprise since this isn’t an orange vegetable, but it, too, has plenty of beta-carotene. The same is true of spinach and collard greens.
- Carrots – It has to be said. Carrots have lots of beta-carotene. If you’re not a fan, feel free to switch them for one of the above suggestions.
- Broccoli – This one is full of vitamin C, which helps prevent eye problems like macular degeneration, glaucoma, and cataracts.
- Tomatoes – Tomatoes have carotenoids, but the beta version isn’t the star here. Instead, it’s lycopene, which is a variant that helps protect the eye from damage due to light. They also have plenty of vitamin C.
- Dark, leafy greens – They’re loaded with lutein and zeaxanthin. This help protect the macula from light damage, absorb some blue light, and even help the eye better pick up on contrast. Lutein and zeaxanthin help the eyes in both the long and short-term.
- Pumpkin pie – While the pie aspect might not be great for your waistline, the pumpkin part is great for your eyes. It is absolutely jammed with both vitamin A and beta-carotene (which your body converts to vitamin A as needed), so you get a double hit of this essential eye nutrient. Plus, pumpkin pie tastes great!
