Best Foods and Vitamins For Healthy Eyes And Preventing Cataracts

Photo credit: bigstock.com

Our eyesight is one of our most important senses, yet, most of us take it for granted. It is only after we develop problems with our eyesight that we think of how to best care for it.

Although the exact cause of cataracts is still unknown research has suggested that free radicals, sometimes called oxidation, is to blame. Free radicals are, at least in part, a byproduct of our own bodies, much the same way that exhaust fumes are the byproduct of cars. Free radicals are also formed by toxic chemicals that are formed in the body after we have introduced or been exposed to environmental chemicals and toxins. As the pollutants in our air, food, and water increase, so do the free radicals that damage our DNA.

Oxidation has been shown to be at the root cause of every degenerative disease known to mankind including heart disease, cancer, and cataracts. Free radicals damage the enzymes and proteins in the eye lens, which can cause cataracts to form.

Think of your eyes as eggs. Heat would turn the clear whites opaque. This is what happens when free radicals are allowed to damage the structure of the lens. The normally clear lens of the eye turns a milky white, obstructing vision slowly and eventually, causing blindness.

If free radicals are the bad guys then think of antioxidants as the good guys in the white hats. Antioxidants neutralize or kill off free radicals before they can cause damage. The body cannot create antioxidants on its own, we must consume them through our diet.

Studies show that persons who have low levels of antioxidants in their bodies are at a much greater risk of developing cataracts.

Although cataracts used to be considered a disease of the elderly, more and more young people are developing this type of blindness due to very unhealthy diets and lifestyle habits. By consuming more healthy antioxidants, especially glutathione, the most important antioxidant of all, we can prevent cataracts and cataract surgery.

Besides an unhealthy diet and lack of antioxidants, other causes of cataracts and damage to the eyes come from:

Genetic Disorders
Diabetes
Other Types of Disease
Vitamin Deficiency
Harmful Toxins (Such as mercury, tobacco, steroid, sugar, alcohol, and artificial sweeteners)
Excessive Exposure to Sunlight
Excessive Exposure to Glare from Computer Screens, Televisions, Etc.

Let’s look at some of the best foods and supplements you can take to protect your precious vision.

Continue to Page 2