Eye health: Nutritionist reveals foods that protect your eyes
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info
Some problems with eyesight are natural with age. But strange changes to your eyes, including “painful” dry eyes, “floaters” and a “contracting visual field” with your vision may instead be the result of dwindling vitamin levels.
A case report published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology in June, depicted a 34-year old woman from Haiti who was wrongly suspected of having glaucoma – a condition where the optic nerve connecting the brain and eyes becomes damaged.
She was reported to experience night blindness, characterised by poor sight at night or in poor lighting. She also had floaters – jelly-like material inside the eyes that can cast a shadow onto the retina. As the name suggests, they look like little pieces of material floating in your vision.
To treat her supposed glaucoma, she was given medication for 18 months that didn’t do anything.
It turned out she was suffering the consequences of a vitamin A deficiency, not glaucoma.
It added: “The dryness leads to changes to the cornea and conjunctiva on the front of the eye which become more keratinized and skin-like.
“Additionally, vitamin A deficiency can lead to night blindness since the cells that are responsible for night vision rely upon vitamin A to function.”
Moreover, within only five and a half months of vitamin A therapy, she had a “complete visual field restoration”.
The medical professionals who shared the case, wrote: “To our knowledge, this is the second reported case documenting a patient’s visual field decline due to VAD, as well as visual field restoration following enteral VAT.”
“As visual outcomes of VAT are significantly underreported in scientific literature, it is imperative that ophthalmologists are aware of its effects.”
As well as being supplemented, vitamin A can be found in several different foods.
According to optometrists.org, the following fruits and vegetables contain vitamin A:
- Fish
- Liver
- Dairy
- Carrots
- Spinach
- Kale
- Sweet potatoes
- Red peppers
- Grapefruit
- Pistachio nuts
- Broccoli
- Mango
- Butternut squash
Vitamin A deficiency is rare for people born in the UK. But it’s not the only vitamin deficiency that can cause eyesight issues.
Vitamin D deficiency can also negatively affect eye health. It is associated with conditions such as age-related macular degeneration, dry eye syndrome and uveitis.
Age-related macular degeneration is the leading cause of eyesight loss in the UK.
The other major symptoms of vitamin D deficiency include bone pain, muscle weakness and fatigue, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Source: Read Full Article