Boost Your Eye Health

👁️ Boost Your Eye Health

By Chih-Chi Lee | Behavioural Optometrist | 8 October 2024

When we think about nutrition, we often focus on heart health, weight management, or energy levels—but what about our eyes? Just like the rest of our body, our eyes rely on a steady supply of nutrients to function optimally and stay healthy over time. A well-balanced diet rich in specific vitamins and minerals can help protect your vision and reduce the risk of common eye conditions such as:

Cataracts – Clouding of the lens caused by protein breakdown, leading to blurry vision and difficulty seeing at night.
Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) – Damage to the macula, the central part of the retina, which impairs detailed vision.
Dry Eye Disease – A condition caused by insufficient lubrication on the eye’s surface, often linked to screen time, medications, and environmental factors.

Early intervention can make a big difference if you’re experiencing symptoms like blurry vision, eye discomfort, or trouble seeing in low light.

🥦 Nutrition and Eye Health: A Vital Connection

Your eyes are complex organs that require a variety of nutrients to stay healthy. Vitamins A, C, and E, along with zinc, lutein, zeaxanthin, and omega-3 fatty acids, play a crucial role in maintaining visual function and protecting against age-related decline.

Macula Degeneration Awareness Month May

Lower Your Risk of Macular Degeneration with Diet

Did You Know You Can Lower the Risk of Macular Degeneration Just by Changing Your Diet?

Macular Degeneration Foundation Australia (MDFA) has some fantastic resources to help you understand and manage the risk of macular degeneration. A new finding from MDFA suggests that sticking closely to the Mediterranean diet or an Asian-style diet is likely associated with a lower risk of early Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and can delay the progression to late AMD.

Eating a healthy, well-balanced diet is good for your general wellbeing, as well as your eye health. We’ve put together some of our favourite recipes that are both delicious and packed with ingredients that are good for macular health. We hope you enjoy!

This Macula Menu e-cookbook is available free as a download. Please ensure you consult with your GP before making any changes to your diet or lifestyle.

For more information and resources, visit the MDFA website.

EyeCare Plus - Why should I look out for cataracts?

First off, what is a cataract?

Right behind the pupil in your eyes is one of the most important parts of your eye’s anatomy: the lenses.

Made up of water and proteins, these lenses bend and focus light to create sharp images. Your ability to see depends on these lenses being transparent and flexible.

As we age however, the protein in these lenses slowly begins to get stiff and coagulate. This makes the lenses cloudy, like you are looking through a frosty windowpane. That is what a cataract is.

Cataracts can happen in one or both eyes, but they don’t spread from one eye to the other. By the age of 80, most people either have cataracts or have had surgery for cataracts

EyeCare Plus -- What is ‘20/20 Vision’?

Have you ever wondered why we refer to a person as having ‘20/20 vision’?

When you go to an optometrist, the first thing you usually see is one of those charts on the wall with a big ‘E’ at the top. These charts are called ‘Snellen Eye Charts.’ They’re named after the Dutch ophthalmologist Herman Snellen, who developed them in 1862 to measure visual acuity.

With these charts, Snellen set a standard for measuring visual acuity that is still in place today all over the world. Globally, almost everyone uses the Snellen chart to check visual acuity.

Measurements of visual acuity are known as ‘Snellen fractions.’ The first number – 20 – refers to the distance between the patient and the chart in feet. The second number refers to a line of text on the eye chart. The big letter ‘E’ at the top of the chart designates 20/200 visual acuity.’