Your eyes are the second most complex organ in your body, coming in only behind the brain. That means there’s a lot going on in there, and it’s important to do what you can to take care of them.
While it’s great to have a go-to ophthalmologist and get regular checkups for your eyes, you should be doing all you can in your daily life to look out for your health, too. Our daily choices matter. And that can mean incorporating eye care supplements.
We’ve laid out some important steps to taking care of your eyes and the benefits you can expect from certain eye health supplements. Keep reading to see if these eye vitamins might be right for you.
Taking Care of Your Eyes
Promoting strong eye health may be more of a holistic undertaking, and eye supplements can be a part of that. Overall, though, it’s a good idea to take a number of steps to protect your eyes.
This can help maintain healthy vision as well as protect against various bacterial infections. Some common ones, like styes, are fairly preventable but quite annoying if they develop. View this article here to learn more about styes.
First and foremost, you should avoid smoking since smoke damages blood vessels in the eyes and can lead to complications. It’s also a good idea to protect your eyes from ultraviolet light by wearing sunglasses and avoiding staring into bright lights.
An active lifestyle and a healthy diet can also benefit your eyes. Let’s take a look at how different health supplements might be able to help your eyes as well.
What Can Eye Care Supplements Do?
A couple of major studies done by the National Eye Institute helped determine what sorts of supplements might be helpful for eye health. These studies looked specifically at age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and cataracts. The results of the studies found the following vitamins and antioxidants to be the most effective in promoting eye health:
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin E
- Lutein
- Zeaxanthin
- Zinc
- Copper
The studies also determined the optimal doses, which range based on the vitamin and should be taken consistently. Let’s take a closer look at a couple of these eye health supplements.
Vitamin C & Vitamin E
Taking vitamin C supplements can help reduce the risk of certain vision problems such as developing cataracts. When combined with vitamin E, it was possible to reduce the risk of developing cataracts as well as slow the progression of existing cataracts.
Lutein & Zeaxanthin
Both of these supplements are carotenoids, which are pigments found in certain plants. They’re also found in your retina. By ingesting these pigments, it can help increase the density of them in your retina.
These carotenoids can also help absorb blue and ultraviolet light, which can damage your eyes.
Zinc & Copper
Zinc is a powerful antioxidant. It helps protect against cell damage. Zinc and copper should be taken together because they affect how much of each vitamin the body can absorb.
Look Out for Your Vision
Our eyes allow us to take in and process the world around us. It’s important to do what we can to keep them in tip-top shape. For some of us, that might mean that eye care supplements are the answer.
You can definitely work on getting these vitamins through your diet, but you might not be able to get the doses you need. That’s where a good eye health supplement can come in.
If you found this article helpful, make sure to check out some of our other posts in our Health category!