If you haven’t heard of “Lutein” before, it’s time to get acquainted. For anyone who wears glasses or contacts, suffers from eyesight problems, or has any complaints of eye health, this is the super vitamin for you.
Whilst there have been hundreds of “superfoods” labelled over the years, nothing has showed as much promise as the carotenoid vitamin, Lutein for eyesight. Together with its sidekick, Zeaxanthin, this antioxidant works to protect both your eyes and skin. And it can be added to your diet in a number of ways.
The Benefits of Lutein
Studies have shown that both Lutein and Zeaxanthin can help to reduce the risk of chronic eye diseases, such as Age Related Macular Degeneration and cataracts. Lutein can also ward off vision loss and more recently, it is believed to be the best defence against blue light damage.
Blue light is the highest energy wavelength of visible light, close to UV on the light spectrum. Whilst a bit of blue light exposure is essential to our health, research suggests that excessive and long term exposure causes damage to our eyes. This light comes from the sun’s natural rays, but can also be found in fluorescent light bulbs, LED computers, tablets, smartphones, and other electronic devices – all things that we use every single day.
But Lutein can help to absorb excess light energy, particularly blue light, and that’s why it’s such an important nutrient to add to our diets. In addition to eye health, Lutein can also help to improve our skin whilst aiding with memory function and and overall brain health.
Improve Your Diet
The best way to have more Lutein is to change your diet. Lutein is a carotenoid, which is a yellow to red pigment found in vegetables and other plants. So to have more Lutein in your diet, you will need to make sure you eat your veggies, particularly leafy greens.
Lutein is highly concentrated in the macula of the human eye and altering your diet will help to keep these levels replenished. Some of the best sources of this super vitamin include kale and broccoli, green peas, as well as fruits such as papaya, oranges and tangerines.
Other ways of boosting your Lutein intake is to take supplements daily. These are usually available from supermarkets or health shops.
Protect Your Eyes
It’s important to remember that our eyes have a natural level of Lutein and a healthy diet or supplement intake can help us keep these levels topped up. But the best way to guard from blue light damage is to reduce our level of exposure. Limit the time you spend on computers or with electronic devices, take regular breaks from staring at LED screens, and always wear UV400 sunglasses when you are outside.
It doesn’t matter what time of year it is; wearing sunglasses is essential if you want to protect your eyes from the sun’s harmful rays. Find high quality 100% UV blocking sunglasses starting from just £10.00 online at SelectSpecs…
Want more advice on improving your eye health in 2018? Read our post ‘7 New Years Resolutions for Better Eye Health‘ and don’t forget to go for your bi-annual eye check-up. Be sure to share photos of your new specs from SelectSpecs with us on social media!
