‘Eat those carrots if you want to have good eyesight!’
A phrase uttered by many parents, in the hope it will get their child to eat some vegetables, if not actually get them to improve their eyesight!
Talking about eyesight, it has become something of a precious commodity in today’s times, where children are glued to their devices for inordinate periods of time. Even if we limit that screen time, our kids still end up in front of their devices, far more than we’d like them to.
Can eyesight be improved naturally? Luckily for you, this article will show you, it most certainly can! We at EuroKids are happy to help you embark on a journey, where the destination is finding the perfect Nutrition for Healthy Eyes. As you read along, you will learn all about the Natural Foods for Eye Health, and also discover the answer to, ‘Which is the best Food for Eye Vision?’ In case you’re wondering if the answer to that question is ‘Carrot’, we’re not telling! At least, not right now. Read on, to gain more ‘Mental Clarity’, on how our eyes can get better ‘Visual Clarity’ via the foods we eat!
Table of Contents:
- Nutrition for Healthy Eyes: Essential Nutrients
- Natural Foods for Eye Health: The Best Foods for Eye Vision
Nutrition for Healthy Eyes: Essential Nutrients
Before we take a look at the actual ‘foods’ that will boost your child’s vision, here’s a sneak peek behind the scenes, at the ‘vitamins’ in those foods, that serve to boost that vision. In other words, some ‘Food for Thought’ when it comes to “Food for Eyes’!
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin C
- Lutein
- Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Top of the list for vision as it is in the alphabet table, there’s a good reason your kids need plenty of this particular ‘A’.
o Vitamin A is packed with retinol, that is used by the retinal cells to make Rhodopsin. This is a pigment that helps the eyes enable vision, in dim light.
o A deficiency in Vitamin A, can lead to the unpleasant condition of ‘dry eyes.’
Yes, Vitamin C is good for the eyes, too.
o Vitamin C works as a powerful antioxidant, that helps the body stave off free radicals, and slow the formation of cataracts.
o Macular degeneration, an eye disease that causes significant vision loss in the elderly, can be slowed with a healthy vitamin C intake.
This one’s not a vitamin, but a nutrient called a ‘carotenoid.’
o Filters blue light from your screens.
o Keeps macular degeneration at bay.
Not everything that has the word ‘fat’ in it is bad!
o Omega-3 supplements can help counter ‘dry eyes.’
o They are packed with DHA, that’s essential for proper eye functioning.
Natural Foods for Eye Health: The Best Foods for Eye Vision
Now comes the fun part. Looking for which foods to eat, to boost vision? Here’s the list!
- Carrots
- Fish
- Oranges
- Seeds
- Kale
- Nuts
- Eggs
- Sweet potatoes (H3)
- Berries
- Legumes
- Milk
- Broccoli
- Bell Peppers
- Avocado
- Lean Meat and Poultry
It’s the ‘beta-carotene’ in carrots, that is converted to Vitamin A by our bodies. As we have seen, the vitamin certainly packs a punch where it comes to boosting vision!
Packed with that ‘Omega-3’ we touched upon earlier!
Best fish choices for Omega-3 needs: Trout, salmon, tuna.
Note: Only give your child fish oil; supplements, if they don’t prefer eating fish in its natural form.
Of course we need more vitamin C’ to ‘See’ better! Oranges are packed with it!
Cool Fact: Kids love peeling oranges, so getting them to eat them will be a breeze.
Looking for a source of Omega-3s for children who don’t like fish? Look no further!
Tip: Mix seeds in some yoghurt, to get kids to enjoy seeds more.
No, adults aren’t the only ones who get to eat that Kale!
Cool Fact: Kale is packed with antioxidants that help keep those cataracts from forming earlier than they should.
Not a ‘nutty’ decision to make, this one. Nuts are, in fact, great for the eyes!
Choices of nuts to eat: Hazelnuts, peanuts and almonds.
The versatility of eggs where it comes to preparing a cool menu for your kids, is indeed exemplary.
Cool Fact: It might be the ‘vitamin A’ that eggs contain that help you see more ‘brightly’, but it’s the ‘zinc’ in the egg yolk that enables ‘night vision’!
Your children might not like the regular ‘potato’ too much except for the ‘French Fries’ version, but they will surely love Sweet Potatoes!
Cool Fact: Sweet Potatoes are laced with vitamins that aid vision greatly.
All children love berries, so these make for the perfect choice for your kids.
Cool Fact: Besides being packed with vitamin C, berries are also laced with ‘catechins.’ These are antioxidants that play a vital role in the proper functioning of retinal tissue.
When we think legumes, we think ‘lentils and beans.’
Cool Fact: Packed with flavonoids and zinc, these are great food choices for keeping macular degeneration and cataracts, far away.
Cool Tip: If your child is not too fond of ‘Dal Chawal’, you might make them a Taco with Black Beans instead!
It’s certainly not going to be difficult to get your kids to comply with this food choice!
Cool Fact: Besides all that calcium and phosphorus that we get our kids to drink milk for, there’s a good deal of Zinc and vitamin A in it, too!
This one’s been quite the rage in health circles, and for good reason!
Cool Fact: The great thing about Broccoli is, it’s packed with a combination of Vitamins. And we all know how important Vitamins are for Eye Health!
These make for a wonderful choice of food to boost vision, especially the ‘red’ type!
Cool Fact: Not only are bell peppers packed with vitamins, but those essential ‘carotenoids’, too.
There’s a reason that this fleshy food is considered a superfood!
Cool Fact: It’s the high level of vitamin E in Avocados that does the trick where it comes to boosting vision.
Bonus: All kids love Avocados!
Good news, for kids who love to eat meat.
Cool Fact: All lean meat is high in vitamin A, that is great for night vision.
Good choices of lean meat: Chicken, pork, beef.
By now, it is safe to say that we have the answer to the question, ‘Can Eyesight be Improved Naturally?’ Needless to say, when it comes to things like ‘correcting our vision when we have a number’, or more serious issues, we need professional help. But as we have seen in this article, there are plenty of foods that we can eat that can help better our vision naturally.
So, what are you waiting for? As you have seen, we at Eurokids place a great emphasis on building sound vision by eating the right foods. Go ahead, and start your kids eating well to boost your vision, from this moment on!
References:
- The Fred Hollows Foundation
- Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
https://www.hollows.org/hk-en/blog/10-foods-that-are-good-for-your-eye-health
https://www.eatright.org/health/wellness/healthful-habits/5-top-foods-for-eye-health
