5 tips to maintain your Eye Health

While many of us are familiar with the importance of having an annual physical, less attention is granted to maintaining good eye health.

However, it’s essential to get ahead of any issues early before they develop into more serious risks for your vision and overall well-being.

Before we share tips to maintain eye health through the years, let’s first look at how common eye-related complications are.

To begin, the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) reports that one in six adults over the age of 65 have impaired vision that prescription glasses and contact lenses can’t correct.

Below, you’ll find some of the most common conditions to be aware of.

A cataract forms when the lens of the eye becomes increasingly cloudy. As a result, people suffer from impairments in their vision.

While cataracts are often associated with seniors, some adults begin to develop them near the age of 40. In fact, the National Eye Institute reports that over 24.4 million adults in the US are afflicted with this condition. Moreover, that number is expected to grow significantly, and is projected to affect closer to 50 million adults by the year 2050.

Glaucoma is another eye condition that creates intraocular pressure. If this condition worsens, it could lead to severe, permanent vision loss or even blindness.

Over 2.7 million adults over the age of 40 have glaucoma. Like cataracts, this number is projected to more than double over the next 30 years.

There are several other diagnoses and conditions that can impact your eye health from mild to severe degrees, including:

• age-related macular degeneration (AMD)
• dry eye
• diabetic retinopathy

Of course, it’s always preferable to get ahead of health issues before they arise in the first place.

For that reason, we recommend adopting the following tips to proactively protect your vision, eyesight, and eye health.

While this tip is standard for overall health, it’s also applicable for maintaining the health of your eyes.

In particular, Harvard Health Publishing recommends eating foods rich in the following nutrients:

• lutein and zeaxanthin (collard greens, romaine lettuce, oranges)
• omega-3 fatty acids (salmon, tuna, walnuts)
• vitamin A (carrots, mangoes, red peppers)
• vitamin C (broccoli, citrus fruits, strawberries)
• vitamin E (almonds, spinach, peanut butter)
• zinc (oysters, red meat, garbanzo beans)

Next, if you adhere to a healthy, balanced diet and exercise regularly, your risk of gaining excess weight—and thus developing type-2 diabetes—is reduced.

Diabetes can lead to glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy, among many other health conditions.

UV light doesn’t only carry the potential to damage your skin, but also your eyes. In fact, it can spur the development of both cataracts and AMD.

For that reason, be sure to wear sunglasses when you go outdoors. Aim to invest in lenses that block 99 percent of both UVA and UVB light or simply look for polarized sunglasses.

If you wear contact lenses, it’s essential to put in, take out, and replace them as instructed.

However, it’s equally as vital to apply them in a hygienic manner (with clean, freshly washed hands) to mitigate the risk of eye infection.

Lastly, smoking poses several well-documented risks to your health and longevity. But did you know that it negatively impacts your eyesight, as well?

The CDC warns that smokers are at greater risk of developing both cataracts and AMD than non-smokers. In fact, people who smoke tobacco are twice as likely to develop AMD and two to three times more likely to suffer from impaired vision due to cataracts.

For these reasons and many more, quitting smoking is one of the best things you can do for your eyes and overall health alike.