6 Best Foods for Eye Health and Eyesight

1. Raw Red Peppers

Eating bell peppers is good for your eyes because they have a lot of vitamin C and other helpful vitamins. Vitamin C helps keep the blood vessels in your eyes healthy and might lower the chance of getting cataracts. You can also find vitamin C in other veggies and fruits like bok choy, cauliflower, papayas, and strawberries. It’s best to eat them raw because cooking can make the vitamin C go away. Brightly colored peppers also have vitamins A and E, which are good for your eyes too.

2. Fish

To keep your eyes healthy, you need two special kinds of healthy fats called omega-3 fatty acids. These fats, called DHA and EPA, are important for your retinas to work well. You can get them from fish like salmon, tuna, and trout, as well as other seafood. Omega-3s can also help protect your eyes from problems like AMD and glaucoma. If you don’t have enough of these fatty acids, it might lead to dry eyes. Good fish sources for omega-3s include tuna, salmon, mackerel, sardines, and anchovies. Eating these fish can give your body lots of benefits, especially for your eyes.

3. Sunflower Seeds and Nuts

Just a small amount of seeds or almonds, about an ounce, gives you half the vitamin E you need in a day, according to the USDA. Vitamin E is helpful for your eyes, especially in slowing down age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and maybe even preventing cataracts. Other good sources of vitamin E include hazelnuts, peanuts (which are technically legumes), and peanut butter. So, having these foods can be good for your eyes.

4. Carrots

Eating orange fruits and veggies like carrots, sweet potatoes, and mangoes won’t give you night vision, but they have something called beta-carotene. Beta-carotene is a type of vitamin A that can help your eyes get better at adjusting to low light, so there’s some truth to what we were told when we were kids.

5. Dark, Leafy Greens

Leafy greens like kale, spinach, and collard greens are packed with vitamins C and E. They also have something called lutein and zeaxanthin, which are like plant-based vitamin A. Eating these greens lowers your chances of having eye problems like AMD and cataracts in the long run. Many people who eat Western diets don’t get enough of these good things for their eyes.

6. Eggs

Eggs are like a super package for your eyes! They have zinc, which helps your body use the good stuff called lutein and zeaxanthin found in the yolk. These compounds have a yellow-orange color that stops harmful blue light from hurting your retina. Plus, they increase the protective pigment in the macula, which is the part of your eye that takes care of central vision. So, eating eggs can help keep your eyes healthy.