http://www.care2.com/greenliving/10-easy-ways-to-healthy-eyes.html
10 Easy Ways to Healthy Eyes
By Lynn Behrendt, contributing writer to Green Living at Care2.com
It’s easy to forget how important eye health is, until a problem comes up. Here are some easy, commonsense tips to help avoid macular degeneration, cataracts, blurry “computer” vision and more.<p.
1. Eat greens. Ingesting lots of leafy green vegetables like spinach, collard greens and kale help avoid macular degeneration. (The “macula” is an area at the back of the eye that enables us to see fine details. When the macula doesn’t work, there is blurriness or darkness in the center of our vision).
2. Take vitamins. There are supplements made specifically for eye health. Be sure that they include these: Vitamins A, C, E and B2 and the minerals zinc and selenium.
3. Keep your eyes hydrated. A simple saline solution can help to lubricate and soothe eyes. (Be sure to check with your doctor if you experience stinging or burning in your eyes, or a sandy or gritty feeling, or you don’t produce tears when you cry. These symptoms could indicate “dry eye,” a condition that needs medical attention).
4. Eat apricots and blueberries. Blueberries are associated with reduction of eye fatigue and apricots are rich in beta carotene and lycopene, both of which promote good vision.
5. Get plenty of Omega 3 fish oil. It helps clear eyesight and eye health. (Heart-healthy diets in general tend to be good for the eyes as well, since blood circulation is so important to eye health).
6. Pamper your eyes. Try placing two slices of soothing cucumber over closed eyes for 15 minutes. It cools and refreshes the eyes.
7. Drink tea. It’s thought that drinking tea might help to deter cataracts.
8. Try Bilberry. This herbal remedy, according to some herbalists, can help to improve night vision.
9. Wear UV filtering sunglasses. Harmful UVA and UVB rays can contribute to cataracts.
10. Give them a break. If you work at a computer, remember the 20/20/20 rule. Take a break every 20 minutes. For 20 seconds, look at something 20 feet away or farther. This allows your eyes to refocus and relax and prevents the blurry vision that can occur by staring at a computer screen for too long.
These common sense tips, in addition to regular visits to a qualified ophthalmologist, will help your eyes stay healthy for years to come.
More on Health & Wellness (31 articles available)More from Lynn Behrendt (8 articles available)
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11 comments
add your comment »Please be aware that extended use of saline in the eyes can be harmful. The reason is that saline alone contains no buffers or mucoid proteins that occur in natural eye fluids.
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Eye exercises is v good for the muscles of the eyes. There is a book written by Dr Steven M beresford, Dr David W muris etc., Improve Your Vision Without Wearing Glasses or Contact Lenses. There are many exercises in the book (used in moderation) for better vision & relaxing the eyes.
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Great advice! There were several new things I picked up and I'm sure the 20/20/20 rule will be welcomed by my eyes!!! Thanx!
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"Ironically", the "need" for fish oil seems to be ODD since vegans are one tenth as likely to die of heart disease, vegetarians only one fourth. Most vegans don't need to take extra supplements either, they're just way healthier. Besides, there's no manure ground into veggie burgers, like in the dollar menu ones. Eating a pound of meat is as hard environmentally as driving 40 miles in a Hummer. It's easy to go veggie, just watch "Peaceable Kingdom", "Earthlings", "Why Dogs Smile and Chimpanzees Cry" read "Fast Food Nation", "Ecological Cooking" and "The China Study". Think of your kids! Great cook books are: Anything by Sarah Kramer or Isa Chandra Moskowits, and "Voluptuous Vegan", PLUS many more. The above mentioned can all be acquired through the library. Our oceans are suffering, and we'll all be affected. Fish get the omegas from plant life anyway, we don't have to kill ourselves through harming them and the environment in order to be healthy.
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I have to admit, I completely forgot that you actualy need a fish in order to get the fish oil. Guess I'll be switching up my Omega 3,6,9 supplement to just include Borat and Flaxseed lol
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I was just thinking about my eyes lastnight and how I could do better by them.
Thanks so much for these tips. There are a few tips I've done that I never knew I was actually doing something good for my eyes.
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I am a calligrapher and do eye exercises by focussing on different distances. whilst doing my work I have focal point of 40cm, same as distance to a computer screen, after around 30 mins I focus on an object across room for a few minutes varying distances helps relieve eye stress
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Flaxseeds, walnuts, tofu all have omega 3 in them. No need to further diminish the fish population just for the omega 3.
Care, be green and go vegan, yeah!
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Great tips, which I have passed on to other.
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thank you
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