Is eating carrots really good for the eyes, or do moms just say that to inflict the vegetable on their kids? Well, one average-sized carrot contains twice the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of vitamin A, which happens to be very good for your eyes. If you don't like carrots, don't worry — lots of yummy (and some not so yummy) foods contain vitamin A and other nutrients your eyes need.

Vitamin A and Other Carotenoids
Vitamin A
First, let's look at how vitamin A helps your eyes. For one thing, it prevents night blindness. If the vitamin A deficiency causing night blindness isn't corrected, it can lead to xerophthalmia, with dryness in the eyes, corneal ulcers and swollen eyelids. Untreated, xerophthalmia can lead to blindness. In fact, vitamin A deficiency is the leading preventable cause of blindness in developing countries.* Vitamin A also prevents cataracts from forming and may have a role in preventing blindness from macular degeneration.

How much vitamin A do you need? The U.S. RDA (recommended daily allowance) for males age 11+ is 1,000 Retinol Equivalents (RE); the RDA for females age 11+ is 800 RE. Vitamin A is also measured in International Units (IU): 1 RE = 10 IU for plant products and 1 RE = 3.3 IU for animal products.

If you smoke or drink, plan on taking in extra vitamin A, because tobacco keeps your body from absorbing it and drinking depletes what you already have in your body. However, watch out for beta-carotene supplements: studies suggest that they increase smokers' incidence of lung cancer. Instead, get your vitamin A from food sources.

You can get vitamin A from two types of food sources: animal products that contain vitamin A (such as liver or butter) or plant products that contain carotene, which your body converts into vitamin A. Foods containing carotene are usually yellow/orange or leafy and green. The following is a sampling of foods with high vitamin A values:

Similasan Eye Drops provide long-term healthy relief without side effects

Food RE in
100-gram
serving RE in
normal-sized
serving
Cod liver oil 30,003 4,080 (1 tablespoon)
Liver, beef 10,503 11,868 (4 oz., 113 grams)
Liver, chicken 6,165 1,973 (1 liver)
Carrot 2,813 2,025 (1 carrot)
Sweet potato 2,006 2,668 (1 sweet potato)
Kale 890 596 (1 cup, chopped)
Butternut squash 780 1,092 (1 cup, cubed)
Red pepper (sweet) 570 849 (1 cup, chopped)
Mango 389 806 (1 mango)
Cantaloupe 322 515 (1 cup, cubed)

The above values are for raw foods. Cooking can change the values, as heat will destroy vitamin A and beta-carotene in foods. Also, if you don't pick up fresh food, select frozen rather than canned, as canning strips away much more of the vitamin A in food.

Lutein and Zeaxanthin
Dr. Steven Cantrell and Dr. Rodney Ausich report that "there is strong clinical evidence that consumption of the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin can reduce a person's risk of ARMD (age-related macular degeneration)."** They may also reduce the risk of cataracts.

Lutein and zeaxanthin are closely related: they often appear together in fruits and vegetables, and your body can convert lutein into zeaxanthin.

There is currently no RDA for either, but you need to get some every day, because your body can't make them.

The best source of lutein and zeaxanthin is green, leafy vegetables, particularly spinach. Kale and collard greens are also good choices. You can also find lutein and zeaxanthin in yellow and orange fruits and vegetables, such as corn.

By the way, the Lutein Information Bureau says that cooked vegetables are a better source of lutein than raw, as cooking breaks down the cell walls to release the lutein.

Vitamin C
Vitamin A isn't the only antioxidant your eyes need (antioxidants take care of the free radicals that would otherwise damage your body, including your eyes). Another vision superhero is vitamin C.

Studies suggest that high levels of vitamin C can reduce the risk of cataracts, which are caused by a buildup of protein that results in cloudy vision. Antioxidant vitamins C and E may also play a role in delaying age-related macular degeneration, which currently has no cure.


Q: With all the research being done on vitamins, minerals and natural herbal remedies, is there anything that can prevent or reverse presbyopia?

A: Presbyopia is a fact of life for everyone. It usually begins in your 40s. There are no vitamins, herbs or eye exercises that can make it go away. There is some research being done on surgical cures, but the results are pending. Read more about presbyopia.



As if potential cataracts or macular degeneration weren't reason enough to make sure you get your vitamin C, it may also prevent and alleviate glaucoma. Studies have shown it to reduce pressure in the eyes of glaucoma patients.

So how much vitamin C should you be getting? The U.S. RDA is 60 milligrams (mg) for both males and females. You should absolutely get the RDA every day. Not only are humans unable to create their own vitamin C (unlike most other species), but we also can't store it in our bodies for very long. If you smoke, drink or have diabetes, you should try to take in extra vitamin C, because your levels will tend to be lower than average.

Citrus fruits, berries, peppers, tropical fruits, potatoes and green, leafy vegetables have a lot of vitamin C. Here's a sampling:

Food mg in
100-gram
serving mg in
normal-sized
serving
Pepper, red (sweet) 190 283 (1 cup, chopped)
Kale 120 80 (1 cup, chopped)
Broccoli 93 82 (1 cup, chopped)
Pepper, green (sweet) 89 133 (1 cup, chopped)
Strawberries 57 86 (1 cup, halved)
Orange 53 70 (1 orange)
Cantaloupe 42 68 (1 cup, cubed)
Grapefruit 34 44 (half grapefruit)
Mango 28 57 (1 mango)
Raspberries 25 31 (1 cup)

The above values are for raw foods. Cooking can change the values, as heat will decrease the vitamin C content. Light is also destructive to C, so if you drink orange juice, it's better to purchase it in opaque plastic jugs or cartons, rather than in glass bottles. Like vitamin A, foods with C are better fresh than frozen or canned, as either process could deplete the amount of the vitamin.

Bioflavonoids
Evidence suggests that your eyes also need bioflavonoids, which are sometimes called vitamin P (though they aren't vitamins). They're compounds that give certain foods their color, and they often work as antioxidants. The good news is: almost any food that has vitamin C in it also has bioflavonoids, so there is no extra list of foods for you to eat. Plus, bioflavonoids help your body to absorb C.

Bilberry is the source of bioflavonoids most often touted as being good for your eyes, but it's not very common in the United States. The white part in the center of citrus fruits is an excellent source of bioflavonoids, and you can also get them from red and purple fruits, such as cherries, grapes and plums. Buckwheat is another good source.

You may sometimes hear bioflavonoids referred to by their many specific names, including: quercetin, rutin, hesperidin or the subgroup anthocyanosides.

Vitamin E
The other key antioxidant vitamin that your eyes require is vitamin E. Many studies suggest that E helps to prevent cataracts, and it might be yet another factor in preventing macular degeneration.

How much vitamin E do you need? The U.S. RDA for males aged 11+ is 10 mg; for females aged 11+, it's 8 mg. As with both A and C, if you smoke, you should plan to consume extra vitamin E.

Nuts are your best source of vitamin E. Here's a sampling of foods that are high in E:

Food mg in
100-gram
serving mg in
normal-sized
serving
Sunflower seeds 50 36 (half cup)
Almonds, dried, unblanched 24 17 (half cup)
Hazelnuts, dried, unblanched 24 16 (half cup)
Peanuts 9 7 (half cup)
Mango 1 2 (1 mango)

Bear in mind that all antioxidants are good for your body, including your eyes, but vitamins A, C and E and lutein are the most helpful to your eyes.