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Eye Health: A Nutrition, Lifestyle And Supplements Guide

Updated: May 15

Think of how important your eyes are in your everyday life. With how essential they are, it’s vital to nourish them every day. From sunshine to eating nourishing whole foods, your eyes will be happy and healthy if you follow these tips!

Eye in a tree

What can you do to support healthy eyes and vision?


First up is sunlight. Exposing your eyes to sunlight at the correct times during the day is simple and has fantastic benefits. At sunrise and sunset, try to get outside and get at least fifteen minutes of sunlight, and you get bonus points for walking barefoot in the grass. Get the morning sunshine before you look at your phone or a screen. Not only will your eyes benefit, but it also helps reset your sleep cycle, improve immune health, and boost your mood.


Blue light-blocking glasses are an importantstep in keeping your eyes healthy. Constant exposure to screens has a very harmful effect on the eyes. You should wear your blue light glasses while working on the computer and after dinner when the sun sets. Unfortunately, most blue light glasses block very little blue light. Get a pair that blocks over ninety percent of blue light if you want the benefits, such as improved eye health and a better sleep cycle. Turning on the night light feature on your phone and computer can also help reduce the amount of blue light the eyes are exposed to throughout the day. Make sure to take a few breaks from screens every hour, even for just a few minutes, to rest your eyes.


Many different types of eye exercises can help be helpful to improve vision. However, doing them every day is key to getting the benefits. Click the button below to download a guide to eye health exercises.

Chronic uncontrolled stress can have a strong negative effect on the eyes. It can increase the risk of vision loss from glaucoma, optic neuropathy, diabetic neuropathy, age-related macular degeneration, and other eye health issues. Getting and keeping your stress levels under control is crucial to keeping your eyes healthy. Check our blog, Stress 101, for tips to reduce stress levels.


Drinking plenty of water is another way to keep your eyes happy. If you don’t, they can become dry and irritated, making them more susceptible to blurred vision, increased tearing, and in severe cases, corneal ulcers. Ensure you get plenty of fluids such as mineral water, herbal teas, seltzer, and milk. In the winter, when the air gets dryer, a cold steam humidifier in the room you sleep in can be helpful to prevent common dry eye issues that can occur from lower humidity and heating systems. Preservative-free lubricant eye drops can be used as needed for dryness. Avoid redness-relieving eye drops as they often contain ingredients that can constrict blood flow in the eyes. Make sure to see an eye doctor if you have chronic dry eye problems.

flavored water recipes

If you are bored with water, try adding some whole-food flavors instead of those awful fake water flavor products.


As with the rest of your body, what you eat and how you nourish yourself makes a big difference in the health of your eyes.


What foods support healthy eyes and vision?


While some foods nourish the eyes, others cause harm. Avoid these foods to ensure your eyes are at their healthiest:

  1. Vegetable and seed oils, fake butter spreads

    1. They cause large amounts of inflammation and oxidative stress, damaging the eyes. I cannot think of foods more damaging to human health than these. If the only change you made was this one, it would still result in a massive improvement in your health.

    2. Instead, use grass-fed butter, grass-fed ghee, grass-fed tallow, and genuine olive oil (be careful with olive oil as a lot of olive oil is adulterated with vegetable and seed oils, even at the health food store).

  2. Refined flours and sugars

  3. Artificial sweeteners, sugar alcohols, and no-calorie, heavily refined sweeteners

    1. Instead, use small amounts of local honey, maple syrup, or coconut sugar.

  4. High-fructose corn syrup

  5. Ultra-processed foods

  6. Artificial food dyes

  7. Fake food

    1. What do I mean by fake food? Check out the picture below.

Real food versus fake food

Two of the burgers above are made from real food, and one is frankenfood made by mad scientists. Ultra-processed fake foods exist to make companies money. They are not better for your health or the environment, no matter what nonsense claims companies make. In fact, in terms of environmental benefits and nourishment supplied, regeneratively farmed grass-fed beef is far better than the others, especially if the meat is local to you. Eat real food!


Certain foods provide nutrients in their most bioavailable and complete forms. Adding these foods frequently to your diet gives your eyes the nourishment they need. However, just eating them once in a while will not cut it. Your eyes need nourishment every day, so eat these foods daily.


What nutrients support healthy eyes and vision?


Vitamin A is an essential nutrient for healthy eyes. Beta carotene and vitamin A are not the same things. Vitamin A has far more benefits for eye health than beta-carotene; most people get very little in their diet. Good sources of vitamin A are:

  • Grass-fed liver and organ meats

  • Unrefined cod liver oil

  • Mackerel

  • Pastured eggs

  • Grass-fed dairy products, especially hard cheeses and butter

  • Clams

  • Oysters

Vitamin C rich foods can help reduce the risk of developing cataracts and age-related macular degeneration. Good sources of vitamin C include

  • Berries

  • Citrus fruits

    • Avoid grapefruit if you take prescription medications

  • Guavas

  • Mangos

  • Pineapples

  • Amla berries

  • Kiwis

  • Cantaloupes

  • Papayas

  • Red Peppers

  • Basically, eat plenty of fruit (fresh and frozen are both excellent).

  • Synthetic vitamin C supplements are not the same as foods rich in vitamin C; check out our article, All about vitamin C, to learn more.

the vitamin c gang

The Vitamin C gang!


Vitamin E rich foods help to protect the eyes from damaging free radicals. Good sources of vitamin E are:

  • Sweet potatoes

  • Pastured eggs

  • Pumpkin

  • Avocados

  • Mangos

  • Kiwis

  • Wild salmon with the skin

  • Wild salmon roe

Zinc helps to bring vitamin A from the liver to the retina to help produce melanin, a pigment that helps to protect the eyes. Certain health conditions have been linked to zinc deficiency, such as poor night vision and cloudy cataracts. Good food sources of bioavailable zinc are:

  • Grass-fed red meat

  • Shellfish

    • Oysters

    • Crab

    • Lobster

  • Organ meats, especially liver

  • Ethical Cacao

Omega-three rich foods help in proper vision development, retinal function, tear production, and lubrication. Good food sources of omega-three fatty acids (EPA, DHA, DPA, etc.) are:

  • Wild-caught fatty fish and shellfish

    • Wild salmon is also rich in astaxanthin which helps to reduce oxidative stress.

    • High-quality canned fish with skin is a great choice as well.

  • Tinned cod livers

  • Pastured eggs

  • Wild salmon roe

  • Grass-fed red meat

  • Grass-fed full-fat dairy products

  • Unrefined cod liver oil

  • Flax, hemp, and chia do not have the type of omega-three that the eyes need; they contain something called alpha-linoleic acid, which the body only turns a tiny amount into the omega-three needed. You can learn more about this here. They are also very high in omega-six; nearly everyone gets too much in their diets.

  • Over ninety percent of people in the USA do not get enough omega-three fatty acids, so eat up.

Lutein and zeaxanthin-rich foods help to reduce the risk of chronic eye diseases.

Good food sources of bioavailable lutein and zeaxanthin are:

Foods that support healthy blood flow and circulation are great for the eyes. Some of these foods are:

  • Wild-caught fatty fish

  • Unrefined cod liver oil

  • Pomegranates

  • Citrus fruits

    • Avoid grapefruit if you take prescription medication

  • Berries

  • Watermelon

  • Purple and red grapes

  • Ginger

  • Avocados

  • Garlic

  • Turmeric

    • Eat turmeric cooked with good fat, like grass-fed ghee, to help increase the absorption of beneficial compounds.

avocado egg boats

Avocado egg boats are a great way to nourish your eyes and make a delicious breakfast!


What supplements support healthy eyes and vision?


Just as whole foods nourish the eyes, true whole food supplements (there are soo many fake whole food supplements on the market) can play a role in helping to keep your eyes healthy. As with all supplements, it’s essential to take them daily and consistently at the full dosage for the correct period of time. Taking one pill once in a while will not give you any benefits. So if the bottle says four capsules per day, make sure to take four capsules every day. While many whole food supplements can support healthy eyes, we wanted to highlight a few of our favorites.


Rosita Unrefined, whole-food cod liver oil is a natural source of omega-3, vitamin A, and vitamin D. It contains these nutrients in their original state, as found in the fish. Unlike nearly all cod liver and fish oils, it does not contain added synthetic vitamins, has not had the structure of the fatty acids altered, and has not been heavily refined. It helps keep the eyes moisturized and lubricated, promotes circulation, and reduces oxidative stress.*


Next up is a whole-food zinc supplement. NZ Pure Health Oyster zinc contains zinc in its whole food, bioavailable form, and naturally occurring copper, which helps to prevent a copper deficiency that can happen when taking zinc supplements long term. In addition, it is easy to absorb and gentle on the stomach, unlike most zinc supplements, which cause an upset stomach.*



Diovasc is a supplement containing special versions of two flavonoids, diosmin and hesperidin. These help to support healthy veins and circulation.*


Moringa is a green vegetable that is packed with lutein. Lutein is a carotenoid that supports healthy eyes.* It is important to choose Moringa that is properly made in order to avoid old or improperly processed and dried Moringa, which will lead to lower levels of lutein. Check out our blog to learn what to look for when choosing a Moringa supplement. Make sure to take your Moringa with a bit of fat, like a meal, to help improve absorption of the lutein.


While Ared's formula supplements for the eyes are very popular, most of them leave a lot to be desired. Poor nutrient forms (zinc oxide, etc), artificial colors, questionable additives, and incomplete formulas are just a few of the issues.


For those looking for a better Ared's Formula, OculoSelect provides the same nutrients (in better forms) as traditional Ared formulas, plus supportive foods, herbs, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, lutein, zeaxanthin, and antioxidants to provide well-rounded, comprehensive nutritional support for your eyes,* without the artificial food dyes found in many of them.


Nourishing your eyes will benefit not only them but your whole body. Including more whole foods, drinking water, getting sunshine, and reducing stress will help you feel much better. You don’t have to try to do it all at once. Making small, consistent lifestyle changes builds up over time, snowballing into lasting beneficial changes.


Eye Health Questions And Support

We know this is a lot of information, so if you have questions about eye and vision health, email us at info@rooted-nutrition.com. We will be happy to answer any questions you have!


*FDA Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any disease.

 
 
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