A balanced and healthy diet, again and again! We are told about it all day long, you must eat fruits and vegetables, 5 a day apparently. You don't even know why, do you? I’m going to give you a first good reason: For your beautiful heartthrob eyes. You want sharp vision to be the best sniper on Call of Duty? You don't necessarily want to have the same runny eyes as your great-aunt Odette's crumbling old dog? So I suggest you ask yourself a good question: Which fruit is good for the eyes? Come on over, I’ll give you a few tips.
In this article:
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The vitamins
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The omegas
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The antioxidants
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The trace elements
What are the vitamins for good eyesight?
Let's start by clarifying that all vitamins are essential for your body to function properly, so you need a bit of everything. Some vitamins stand out for their ability to improve/maintain eyesight; we’ll focus on that today.
Vitamin A
The first is vitamin A. It is stored mainly in the liver and helps regulate, stabilize, and thus preserve vision.
It generally helps to prevent the risks of eye disease. If you want the technical details, it allows for the creation of rods in your eye’s nervous system and contributes to the protection of the cornea.
Vitamin C
In addition to vitamin A, vitamin C plays an important role when talking about eye health. It helps reduce the risks of cataracts. Okay, so yes, you may not be 65 yet, but that will come, and at that age, there’s a 50% chance of having them—it’s not for nothing that it’s the number one cause for surgery in France.
Besides cataracts, we are going to try our best to avoid AMD (Age-related Macular Degeneration) with vitamin C. AMD is, roughly speaking, the degeneration of the central part of your retina.
Vitamin E
Third and final vitamin on the podium, vitamin E. It helps improve blood circulation in the blood vessels of the eyes, an important role, as you might suspect!
In which fruit can you find the best vitamins for your eyesight?
Here is our top fruit list to get the best vitamins for having lynx-like eyes:
To get a maximum of Vitamin A, the top three fruits rich in beta carotene (provitamin A) are
- 🥭 mango
- 🍑 apricot
- 🍈 melon
Regarding vitamin C, you have a choice
- 🥝 Kiwi
- 🍓 Strawberry
- 🟠 orange
- 🍋 lemon
- guava
- blackcurrant
Something to treat yourself!
To finish, you find a max of vitamin E in
- 🐿️ hazelnuts and almonds.
For those who are allergic or not crazy about them, you can also find it in
- 🥑 avocado
- 🥭 mango
- blackcurrant.
The omegas
Which omegas are good for eyesight?
You don't need to date a "tuna" (slang for an unattractive person) to get the right omegas for your eyes.
Here we are talking about a specific omega, omega-3. In fact, your eyes are composed of these, and an adequate intake is very important.
Omegas are not only found in oily fish.
Omega-3s have many benefits for our health and are particularly good for eyesight.
- 👴🏻 The first is to drastically reduce the risks of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
- 👁️ Secondly, omega-3s help protect against glaucoma. No, it's not the name of a monster in a video game but a real eye disease that leads to the destruction of the optic nerve and therefore loss of vision.
- 💧 To finish, omega-3s help fight against dry eye syndrome. In short, omega-3s help increase the quality and quantity of tears, thus acting as a lubricant to protect your cornea. Quite handy, like any good quality lube.
In which fruit can you find the most omega-3s?
Have you also been traumatized by your mother and her cod liver oil and are you looking for an alternative? Good news, I know some fruits that are full of them.
The fruit—or rather fruits—richest in omega-3s are nuts/seeds.
Nuts are known to be rich in fat. They are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. We should mention walnuts, but you can also go for almonds, pistachios, or cashews.
It's a good snack and easy to carry, so treat yourself when you want a little break; it's more practical than carrying around oily fish full of omegas.
The antioxidants
What are the best antioxidants for eyesight?
In general, many antioxidants can be beneficial, but some are more effective than others. The winning pair is Lutein and Zeaxanthin. These two are very good for eyesight and help reduce the risks of cataracts and AMD.
Lutein and zeaxanthin are highly concentrated in the retina and the lens; they act as a barrier against light and help protect eye tissues.
In which fruit can you find Lutein and Zeaxanthin?
Some fruits are teeming with them!
I couldn't fail to mention the blueberry, a classic. It helps maintain good vision thanks to its antioxidant effect.
It is also renowned for improving night vision and visual acuity. Perfect for a night raid in your favorite FPS.
For the rest of the podium, we have avocado and orange; these are the fruits richest in lutein and zeaxanthin.
The trace elements
Which trace element is good for eyesight?
Zinc is the main and essential trace element for the eyes and therefore for vision. It plays a large part in the fight against ocular aging and age-related macular degeneration.
In which fruit can you find zinc?
Basically, fruits are not necessarily the biggest providers of zinc, and if you are looking for a really substantial intake, it is better to turn to cereals (or eat some oysters 😅).
However, we find interesting amounts of zinc in watermelon, the Goji berry we already mentioned, and coconut.
Which fruit is good for the eyes: Final thoughts and Chef's tips
Eat balanced, eat fruits and vegetables preferably local, which have not been treated. You will be able to eat the skins; they are very rich in vitamins.
In addition to vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin E, don't skimp on omega-3s, fruits that contain antioxidants, and those that can bring you a bit of zinc.
Trade your Kinder Bueno break for a good seasonal fruit rich in trace elements, and eat nuts as a snack. And don't forget to protect your eyes from screens with blue light glasses or gaming glasses.
FAQ: Some frequently asked questions:
Are there alternatives to fruit to get what I need to preserve my eyesight?
You have allergies to some fruits or for some other reason you cannot consume one of the foods above? An alternative can be to replace your box of Tic Tacs with a box of dietary supplements depending on your needs. Ask your doctor for advice if you have any doubts; they will be able to advise you if necessary if you have very specific needs.
What are the bad foods for the eyes?
You guessed it: like everything that is good (to the taste), it is very bad (for your health)! Discover the foods bad for eyesight here.
I can cite sugar, bad fats, fried foods (just look at the guy from KFC, you thought it was because of what the glasses? Not enough vegetables and too much fried chicken. We even had a visit from Ronald who is looking for glasses because he eats so much fat.)
We will also note saturated fatty acids which are known to be harmful because they act negatively on the micro-blood vessels that allow the irrigation of your eye tissues. So go easy on the saturated fatty acids if you don't want to end up like your cousin's rabbits that caught myxomatosis last summer.
Alcohol can disrupt the body's assimilation of vitamins and impact your eyes indirectly, so yes, alcohol is not cool.
I will finish with processed and industrial foods; it’s nothing new, but they are harmful on all levels, eyes included.
Which vegetable to improve eyesight?
We often talk about fruits, but we must not forget vegetables that are rich in vitamins and good for the eyes. Without going into detail, carrots (full of beta-carotene), spinach, and broccoli are part of our top 3 vegetables to consume regularly. Green vegetables are generally loaded with vitamins.
