Essential Eye Vitamins

Our eyes are one of our most important organs, and perhaps the ones we might take for granted the most, even though they do so much for us. They allow us to see our friends and family, read, watch movies, take in art, and essentially allow us to move about in our lives, but how often do you think about what your eyes might need to stay healthy? Most people don’t see an optometrist regularly, or ever, until there’s a problem. But preventative care is just as important for our eyes as it is for every other part of our bodies.

There are several things that you can do to maintain the overall health of your eyes, including incorporating essential eye vitamins into your diet. Below, we’ll go over our top six tips to keep your eyes healthy.

Tips to Keep Your Eyes Healthy

Keep your eyes healthy by following these top tricks:

1. Wear sunglasses 
   Too much exposure to the sun can cause cataracts and other damage to your eyes. Make sure you’re wearing sunglasses – even on cloudy days – that have both UVA and UVB protection.
2. … and protective eyewear 
   If you’re working with hazardous or airborne materials, wear safety goggles or glasses. And if you’re playing sports like hockey, lacrosse, racquetball, snow sports, etc., make sure to wear something to protect your peepers from injury.
3. Follow the 20/20/20 rule 
   Too much screen time can cause eye strain, headaches, blurry vision, dry eyes, and a hard time focusing. The 20/20/20 rule says that for every 20 minutes you spend looking at a screen, stare at something at least 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds to give your eyes a much-needed break.
4. Don’t smoke 
   We all know that smoking is bad for us, but did you know that it increases your chances of getting cataracts and macular degeneration? Protect your eyes and put the cigs down.
5. Lead an active lifestyle 
   Staying active is good for your overall health and can prevent diseases that directly affect your eyes, like heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure.
6. Eat a healthy diet 
   A healthy diet is also good for your overall health. Make sure that you get plenty of essential eye vitamins by either eating plenty of dark leafy greens and fish, or by taking a supplement.

What are the Essential Eye Vitamins?

• Vitamin A and Beta Carotene – Vitamin A is an antioxidant and helps maintain overall good vision, helps improve night vision, and aids in the functionality of the cornea. Beta Carotene is a specific source of Vitamin A that’s present in fruits and veggies that are richly colored. Do you remember being told to eat carrots for your eyes when you were growing up? It’s because it’s a good source of Beta Carotene!
• Vitamin E – Vitamin E is another powerful antioxidant and helps prevent cataracts, dry eyes, and macular degeneration in your eyes.
• Vitamin C – Vitamin C is another antioxidant that can help lower your risk of developing age-related macular degeneration and helps prevent UV damage.
• B Vitamins – B Vitamins are thought to help prevent dry eye, glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration.
• Omega-3 Fatty Acids – Omega-3 Fatty Acids are anti-inflammatory, can help prevent dry eye, and help protect your eyes from diabetic retinopathy.
• Zeaxanthin and Lutein – Zeaxanthin and Lutein are good for protecting against UV damage, preventing dry eye, and protecting against age-related macular degeneration.

Taking care of your eyes is essential, especially as we get older. Make sure you’re helping your eyes out by following our tips for eye health and incorporating enough essential eye vitamins in your diet! To learn more about eye health and the supplements we have to offer, check out our Eye Health supplements and vitamins here!