Six Simple Ways to Improve the Health of your Eyes

This week’s post comes to us from our friends at New England Eye.

A sunset, a Patriot’s game, the face of a loved one – all things you don’t want to miss seeing! We often take our eyesight for granted, but with so much to lose, good vision care is an essential part of our overall wellness.

Here are six easy things you can do to maintain your eye health:

  1. Eat well

Nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids, lutein, zinc, and vitamins C and E help ward off age-related vision problems such as macular degeneration and cataracts.  Regularly incorporate green leafy vegetables such as spinach, kale and collard greens along with salmon, tuna, eggs, nuts and beans into your diet. Check out our recipe below for a treat for your eyes and taste buds!

  1. Quit smoking

Smoking may result in cataracts, optic nerve damage, and macular degeneration. If you’ve tried unsuccessfully to quit smoking in the past, don’t give up.  It’s never too late.

  1. Wear sunglasses        

Properly coated sunglasses will help protect your eyes from the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays.  Excessive UV exposure may lead to cataracts and macular degeneration.  Glasses should block 100% of UVA and UVB rays.

  1. Use safety eyewear

Sports such as ice hockey, squash and lacrosse can lead to eye injury. Wear sport goggles with polycarbonate lenses to protect your eyes. If you work with hazardous or airborne materials on the job or at home, wear safety glasses or protective goggles every time.

  1. Look away from the screen!

Staring at a computer screen, tablet or phone for too long can result in eyestrain, dry eyes and headaches.  Make sure your contact lens or glasses prescription is up-to-date.  Position your computer so that your eyes are level with the top of the monitor so that you look slightly down at the screen.  Avoid glare on your computer and rest your eyes every 20 minutes by looking away for 20 seconds.  Take a 15-minute break every two hours.

  1. Visit your eye doctor regularly

Everyone including children should get regular eye exams to protect their sight.  Eye exams are key in diagnosing certain eye diseases with no symptoms such as Glaucoma.  The earlier these diseases are diagnosed, the better the outcome.

Join us at FitRec October 7, noon to 1, for a free educational workshop titled, “Sharing the Vision.” 

 

Recipe for Healthy Eyes

Smoked Salmon Pizza with Dill Lemon

Especially rich in: eye-healthy omega-3s DHA and EPA

INGREDIENTS:

Cooking spray
2/3 cup fat-free sour cream
3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1 clove garlic, minced
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Black pepper
1 13.8 ounce can refrigerated pizza crust
1 cup thinly sliced red onion
6 ounces thinly sliced smoked salmon
1/4 cup peeled and thinly sliced cucumber

DIRECTIONS

  • Coat a pizza pan or cookie sheet with cooking spray. Set aside. Heat oven to 425°F.
  • In a small bowl, thoroughly mix first 6 ingredients (sour cream through pepper). Set aside to let flavors blend.
  • Spread dough on a round pizza pan or cookie sheet until 12″ round in diameter.
  • Sprinkle onion evenly over top and bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool.
  • Spread sour cream mixture over pizza crust, top with salmon and cucumbers.

Makes 6 servings.

Nutritional Information (per serving): 221 Calories; 13% fat (3.2 g total, < 1 g saturated), 65% carbohydrate (33.7 g), 22% protein (12.2 g), 6.5 mg cholesterol, 1.7g fiber, 6.5 mg vitamin C, 0.5 mg vitamin E, 1,057 mg sodium.

This blog post brought to you by New England Eye

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