Eating for Eye Health:
Summertime brings an abundance of in-season fruits and vegetables. Whether you grow them at home, purchase them at a local farmers’ market or grocery store, or both, eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can help support your overall health.
Choosing foods with vitamins, antioxidants, and minerals can also support your eye health.
Summertime Produce to Watch: Produce that contains eye-friendly nutrients, like lutein, vitamin C, and more, are essential to helping your eyes work their best. Plus, they can help reduce your risk of developing certain eye diseases, like age-related macular degeneration and cataracts.
As you browse your produce options this summer, keep an eye out for in-season foods that contain eye-healthy nutrients, like the ones listed below!
Vitamin C: Vitamin C is an essential nutrient. It helps protect the body from damage caused by free radicals (compounds formed when the body converts food into energy) as well as environmental factors, such as UV rays, air pollution, and smoke. It also supports cell tissue repair and growth.
You can find vitamin C in a variety of produce, including:
- Strawberries
- Oranges
- Grapefruit
- Green peppers
- Tomatoes
Vitamin A: This vitamin is perhaps best known for supporting eye health—and for a good reason. Your retina turns light rays into the images you see, and it needs plenty of vitamin A to accomplish this. Eating foods rich in vitamin A can help keep your retina healthy and support the moisture production your eyes need to open and close smoothly and stay comfortable.
You can find vitamin A in things such as:
- Carrots (a vitamin A powerhouse)
- Sweet potatoes
- Cantaloupe
- Apricots
Lutein and Zeaxanthin: Lutein and zeaxanthin are naturally found in the eye’s retina, which lines the back of the eye. A specialized area of the retina is called the macula, which is what gives us our central vision. Lutein and zeaxanthin (often found together) can help protect the macula. Eggs are also an excellent source of lutein.
You can find these two nutrients in leafy greens like:
- Romain lettuce
- Kale
- Spinach
- Broccoli
Your Summer Produce Shopping List: As you shop this summer, keep an eye out for these in-season produce options to support your eye health:
- Romaine lettuce
- Kale
- Spinach
- Broccoli
- Carrots
- Sweet potatoes
- Cantaloupe
- Apricots
- Strawberries
- Oranges
- Grapefruit
- Green peppers
- Tomatoes
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