Bowl of Berries

I recently watched a video about eye health from one of my favorite mentors, Michael Greger, M.D. (NutritionFacts.org), who asked a good question:

Would you rather eat a bowl of fresh berries for breakfast or a bowl of pills?

This is a great question for someone like myself who has worked several years within the natural supplement industry.

Within that industry, we learn that it is important to supplement our diet no matter how healthy we think we are eating because our soil has been depleted of necessary nutrients.

Plus, it unfortunately remains true that most Americans do not eat ‘healthy’ but rather rely on over-processed, over-cooked, well-marketed food that fill our supermarkets.

Learning how to eat healthy and supplementing the diet with either pills prescribed by doctors, meal replacements and/or vitamins can be frustrating if you’re not really sure what’s working or what could be a waste of time and money.

Best Foods for Vision

If you are concerned about getting the right nutrients for your eyes in general, my very first suggestion would be to increase foods that are rich in vision improving phytonutrients such as, lutein, zeaxanthin, carotenoids (including astaxanthin) omega fatty acids and antioxidants.

While increasing the following foods (see below) into the diet, I would also be mindful of cutting out foods which are high in trans fat, cholesterol and processed sugar since these all contribute to diabetes which may then lead to long-term eye problems.

Citrus fruit

Red & yellow peppers

Sweet corn

Tomatoes

Carrots

Green, leafy vegetables (kale, spinach, lettuce…)

All berries (blueberries, black currants, wolfberries a.k.a. goji berries)

Yellow squash

Broccoli

Sweet potatoes

Hemp seeds, flax seeds & walnuts

Lentils, beans & other legumes

Eggs & Lutein

Eggs are also a rich source of the nutrient, lutein, but please be aware that eggs stimulate TMAO production. (For more information, read my blog, Secret Killer: TMAO. )

Also, eggs are loaded with cholesterol and although cholesterol is essential, our body produces 80% all by itself according to Harvard researchers among many others.

Plus, holistic doctors and scientists “warn that eating even a single egg a day may exceed the safe upper limit for cholesterol intake.” – NutritionFacts.org

To Fish or Not to Fish

One of my many concerns about increasing intake of fish in the diet to receive eye healthy nutrients such as omega-3 (which is the best way to lubricate your eyes from the inside-out) and astaxanthin is that we can actually overdose on them.

While there are benefits to supplementing with astaxanthin, too much may lead to “skin pigmentation (astaxanthin is the compound that gives flamingos, salmon, and shrimp their pink color) and hair growth, hormonal changes, lowered blood levels of calcium, decreased libido, breast enlargement in men, and changes in blood tests.” – Andrew Weil, M.D.

The omega-3 fatty acids found in fish such as wild salmon and tuna may also, unfortunately, be rich in PCB’s and other toxins “which can’t be fully avoided since PCB’s are found in water everywhere.” – Consumerlabs.com

Although some fish, like salmon and tilipia, are usually found to be low in mercury, I would be careful of your fish consumption since mercury has been found to contribute to further eye damage, “cataracts, retinitis pigmentosa, iritis, color vision problems, and other eye conditions are documented.” – Amalgam.org

Best Diet for Your Eyes

Keep in mind that I’m not a medical doctor but I have studied and continue to study science-based evidence of both old and new ways to live the best life possible through healthy eating. (See my disclaimer and holistic nutrition certification on my About page.)

Through all of my research, the overall best diet for your health consists primarily of a whole foods, plant-based diet which is rich in phytonutrients that have proven to not only prevent disease but even reverse disease.

A recent study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition proved just that. They found that “overall, compared with meat eaters who consumed 100g meat and meat products per day, fish eaters, vegetarians, and vegans had approximately 20%, 30%, and 40% lower risk of cataract, respectively.”

Short video link explaining this study found here: Preventing Cataracts with Diet.

For more information on this topic or any related topics, private message me on Facebook or book your session here.

Until then, be well always!

Cynthia Moon