10 Foods That Are Good for Your Eyes

Raw Red Peppers

Bell peppers give you the most vitamin C per calorie. That's beneficial for the blood vessels in your eyes, and evidence says it could lessen your risk of having cataracts. It's present in numerous vegetables and fruits, including bok choy, cauliflower, papayas, and strawberries. Heat will break down vitamin C, so go raw when you can. Brightly colored peppers also include eye-friendly vitamins A and E.

Sunflower Seeds and Nuts

An ounce of these seeds or almonds offers half the amount of vitamin E the USDA advises for people each day. A big study indicated that vitamin E, coupled with other nutrients, can help halt age-related macular degeneration (AMD) from getting worse. It may also help prevent cataracts. Hazelnuts, peanuts (technically legumes), and peanut butter are also good sources of vitamin E.

Dark, Leafy Greens

Kale, spinach, and collard greens, for example, are high in both vitamins C and E. They also have the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin. These plant-based sources of vitamin A lessen your risk of long-term eye problems, including AMD and cataracts. Most people who eat Western diets don't receive enough of them.

Salmon

Your retinas need two forms of omega-3 fatty acids to work right: DHA and EPA. You can find both in fatty fish, such as salmon, tuna, and trout, as well as other seafood. Omega-3s also tend to protect your eyes from AMD and glaucoma. Low quantities of these fatty acids have been associated to dry eyes.

Sweet Potatoes

Orange-colored fruits and vegetables -- such sweet potatoes, carrots, melons, mangos, and apricots -- are high in beta-carotene, a form of vitamin A that helps with night vision, your eyes' ability to adjust to darkness. One sweet potato also offers more than half the vitamin C you need in a day and a little vitamin E.

Lean Meat and Poultry

Zinc delivers vitamin A from your liver to your retina, where it's used to form the protective pigment melanin. Oysters have more zinc per serving than any other meal, but you don't have to be a shellfish enthusiast to obtain enough: Beef, pork, and chicken (both dark and breast meat) are all good sources.

Beans and Legumes

Prefer a vegetarian, low-fat, high-fiber choice to help keep your vision clear at night and slow AMD? Chickpeas are also high in zinc, as are black-eyed peas, kidney beans, and lentils. A can of baked beans will do the job, too.

Eggs

It's a wonderful package deal: The zinc in an egg will help your body use the lutein and zeaxanthin from its yolk. The yellow-orange tint of these chemicals filters dangerous blue light from injuring your retina. They help enhance the amount of protective pigment in the macula, the region of the eye that governs central vision.

Squash

Your body can't generate lutein and zeaxanthin, but you can receive them from squash all year long. Summer squash also provides vitamin C and zinc. The winter kind will give you vitamins A and C as well as omega-3 fatty acids, too.

Broccoli and Brussels Sprouts

These related veggies come with another winning mix of nutrients: vitamin A (as lutein, zeaxanthin, and beta-carotene), vitamin C, and vitamin E.

They're all antioxidants that protect the cells in your eyes from free radicals, a type of unstable molecule that breaks down good tissue. Your retinas are especially sensitive.