Food and lifestyle habits that can prevent eye problems

Avoid straining the eyes by reading small letters, especially on your phone screen

Eating healthy can improve eye sight (Photo credit: Pixabay)
Key Highlights
  • A number of factors including bad everyday habits, are responsible for poor or blurred vision.
  • Eat a healthy and balanced diet that includes foods that boost eye health.
  • Adequate intake of water prevents dehydration and ensures requisite tear build-up.

Our eyes play a vital role in our bodies and as such, need to be taken care of. Any problem with the eyes should not be ignored and a doctor must be consulted immediately. If the eyes are healthy, vision will be clear, sharp and focused.

However, many people tend to be careless about their eyes. According to ophthalmologists, a number of factors including bad everyday habits, are responsible for poor or blurred vision. These can adversely impact a person’s eyesight and develop into further complications, if not addressed in time.

Experts are of the opinion that it is advisable to change certain habits, in order to prevent the development of eye problems. Eat a healthy and balanced diet that includes foods that boost eye health such as leafy green vegetables, oranges, dry fruits, eggs, seafood, beans and carrots.

Avoid straining the eyes by reading small letters, especially on your phone screen. Excessive eye strain causes issues like dryness, irritation and itchiness in the eyes.

Avoid looking at any type of screen right before bed in the dark, including your cell phone, television and computer, since it leads to eyestrain, pain, headache, dry eyes and redness. Eye problems are common in people who spend long durations at their computers or mobile phones.

Get at least 7 hours of sleep every night, in order to avoid blurred vision. This relaxes the eyes and improves general eye health. Avoid eating junk food. Although it is tasty and popular among people, its intake can weaken vision. Eat a healthy diet at the right time and intervals.

Avoid smoking cigarettes and the use of tobacco and tobacco-related products, since they put one at risk of developing throat and lung cancer, along with eye problems. While outdoors in the sun, the eyes are exposed to harmful UV rays which can lead to eye cancer. Use sunglasses to protect the eyes from UV rays.

Avoid rubbing the eyes. This seemingly benign but intrinsically habitual behavior can affect eye pressure and damage the cornea. In case of itching, wash the eyes with cold water.

Adequate intake of water prevents dehydration and ensures requisite tear build-up. This, in turn, keeps the eyes moisturized, thus avoiding eye strain, swelling, itchiness, irritation and redness of the eyes.

Eye drops and other forms of treatment are used in case dust or dirt enters the eyes. Hence, it is important to be extremely careful about the health of our eyes, in order to maintain proper vision and eye health and prevent the weakening of our eyesight.