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  • Eye Health & Wellness

Top Three Worst Foods for Eyesight

  • Last updated January 31, 2023

5 min read

Danielle Stoken
Written byDanielle Stoken
Jovi Boparai, MD
Reviewed by Jovi Boparai, MD
Danielle Stoken
Danielle StokenEye Health & Wellness ContributorPittsburgh, PA

Bio

I was so excited when I learned about CorneaCare and am honored to share content, tips and stories about dry eye! I am a certified Health Coach through the Institute for Integrative nutrition so the intersection of nutrition/lifestyle and dry eye disease is one that I am particularly passionate about. Since recently becoming a mom, I care even more about my eye care and self-care and am learning so much through CorneaCare's educational resources.

Get to know me a little better!

Hobby: baking sourdough bread
Food: pasta
Superhero: my dad
Guilty pleasure: cold brew coffee (really, any coffee)
Secret power: serious facial recognition/recollection

Training:

Undergraduate: Carnegie Mellon University
Nutrition training: Institute for Integrative Nutrition

Jovi Boparai, MD
Jovi Boparai, MDCo-founder & CEO of CorneaCarePhiladelphia, PA

Bio

Dry eye disease is tough! I get it. I have struggled with dry eyes for several years from contact lens use, and from spending countless hours looking at computer screens. In college, my dry eyes got so bad that I couldn’t wear contact lenses, because of a constant “foreign body sensation” when I had them in. I had to stop reading every 30 minutes because my eyes would start to burn and my vision would get blurry. I tried a plethora of treatments and nothing seemed to work. Dry eye disease was not only impacting my eyes, but also my emotional wellbeing. It was preventing me from enjoying life, and getting in the way of my professional training. I felt overwhelmed, frustrated and hopeless.

It was only when I realized that my dry eyes were linked to my lifestyle, environment and overall health did things start to make sense. I noticed that on days when I spent less time on the computer, my eyes felt better. My symptoms would flare when it was windy, or when there was low humidity. I knew that if I wanted to get ahead of my dry eyes, I needed to not only treat my eyes, but to also address my lifestyle. I started a consistent regimen of artificial tears and eyelid hygiene. I switched from monthly contact lenses to daily contact lenses. I started taking scheduled breaks from looking at a computer. I ate a healthier diet focused on anti-inflammatory/antioxidants foods, and I bought a humidifier for my room. In the beginning doing all this seemed impossible, but over time it became part of my usual routine. Not only did my eyes feel better, but I was overall healthier and happier! Turns out what is good for my eyes, was also good for my mind and body. I carried this lesson with me as I started my career to become an ophthalmologist and ophthalmic surgeon.

Because of my personal journey and professional training, I believe dry eye treatment starts by listening to and empowering the patient. I listen for the struggles and cue in on their strengths, while picking up on their lifestyle. Only then do we together start building a treatment plan that incorporates good eye hygiene with small, but impactful lifestyle changes. Our sight is our most important sense, and it is intimately linked to our very being. I want dry eye patients to not only get their dry eyes under control, but to also enjoy good mental and physical health, and live a fulfilling life. What is good for the eyes should also strengthen the mind and fortify the body!

Get to know me a little better!

Hobby: vintage watches
Food: peanut butter
Superhero: Superman
Guilty pleasure: desserts
Secret power: has never had a headache

Training:

Undergraduate: University of Pittsburgh Honors College
Medical school: Weill Cornell Medicine
Ophthalmology residency: Wills Eye Hospital.

Top three worst foods for eyesight

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Table of Contents

Key points

  • What you eat can make a difference in how your eyes feel and possibly prevent eye problems like age-related macular degeneration, cataracts and dry eye disease. 
  • The worst foods for eyesight are highly inflammatory and contribute to age-related eye conditions.
  • You can make simple nutritional swaps to improve the health of your eyes and your physical health overall.

Taking the first step

You’re likely aware that what you put into your body affects your overall health and wellbeing. The same goes for your eyes. Diet and nutrition significantly impact the health of our eyes. The worst foods for eyesight are actually common foods that should be limited or avoided for optimal health, and you’ll probably feel much better without them in your diet! CorneaCare strongly encourages lifestyle modifications as part of your overall eye health and wellness strategy. One of the easiest places to start could be with food. 

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Why good nutrition is essential in overall eye health

First, let’s understand why nutrition is essential to eye health and wellness. When it comes to good eye health, a strong diet should consist of nutrients lutein & zeaxanthin, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, omega-3 fatty acids and zinc.¹

Lutein and zeaxanthin are carotenoids (nutrients) with high antioxidant properties. They typically appear in richly colored foods like dark leafy greens and some fruits like tangerines. Increasing the amount of lutein and zeaxanthin in the diet has been shown to decrease the risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a serious eye condition that can lead to blindness.² 

Nutritional health and dry eye disease

Vitamins C and E are important to include in any diet aimed to improve eyesight. Vitamin C (found in citrus fruits, bell peppers and tomatoes) may help lower the risk of developing cataracts (an age-related eye disorder that causes blurry vision). Vitamin E helps protect the eyes’ cells from free radicals, which age healthy tissue in the eye. Vitamin E is found in nuts, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, and leafy green vegetables.¹

A diet high in omega-3 fatty acids has many benefits for the body overall. When it comes to eye health, omega-3 fatty acids, like those found in wild-caught fish like salmon and tuna, help reduce inflammation and enhance tear-film stability. Getting adequate amounts of essential fatty acids can greatly improve dry eye disease symptoms.³ 

While you may think of zinc as an immune-boosting mineral, it is also beneficial in preventing vision problems like poor night vision, AMD and cataracts. Zinc (found in red meat, nuts and seeds), helps bring Vitamin A from the liver to the retina to produce melanin, a protective pigment found in the eyes.¹

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The three worst foods for eyesight

So now that you have an idea of some of the best foods to include in your healthy eye diet, let’s review which ones you may want to reduce or avoid. 

In general, any foods that cause inflammation can negatively impact your eyesight (and overall health). Inflammation prevents healing and can lead to a host of health problems, including heart disease, diabetes, asthma, cancer, arthritis and Alzheimer’s disease.⁴ These chronic conditions can also lead to problems with your eyesight. 

Key symptoms of dry eye disease

Let’s cover some common inflammatory foods and ingredients so that you understand their effect on eye health. 

Fried foods

You’ll be hard-pressed to find an article touting the benefits of eating fried foods. Foods fried in unhealthy fats like trans fats aid in developing age-related eye diseases such as AMD. 

A recent study linked the consumption of trans fats, particularly polyunsaturated fats, as a contributing factor to the development of AMD in a group of participants (women ages 50-79) over multiple years. Even when anti-inflammatory omega-3s were added to the participants’ diet, the benefits of those healthy fats were diminished by the prevalence of the trans fats in their diet.⁵ 

We’re not suggesting you never eat french fries again, but removing fried foods from your everyday food choices is a great way to start protecting your eyes. Some people have switched to air-frying their food at home, which gives you the same “crunch” that you might crave from fried food, but without the harmful oils. 

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Processed foods

In today’s modern world, many of us seek convenience when necessary. We get it, we live in a busy world and there’s only so much time in the day. We jump in our car, order our coffee ahead of time on an app, and grab quick, packaged meals to eat on the run. Unfortunately, our health (and wallets) pay the price when consuming processed foods. 

Processed foods, like traditional junk foods (chips, cookies, and candy) and even foods that you may not deem “unhealthy” like salad dressings and protein bars, often contain preservatives, unhealthy fats and inflammatory ingredients linked to some of the conditions mentioned above. What’s more, these packaged foods often have little or no nutritional benefits. 

A concern with packaged food is that it typically contains a high amount of sodium chloride (salt). A diet high in salt can lead to high blood pressure, damaging the blood vessels around the eyes and leading to blurry vision or vision loss.⁶ 

If you find that you reach for processed foods because you are often on the go, consider switching to whole foods like an apple and a handful of nuts, or a banana and hard-boiled egg. While it may take some practice and a bit more time to make healthy swaps, notice how you feel and know that you are protecting your eyesight in the long run!

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Refined carbohydrates

Refined carbohydrates, like white bread, sugary drinks, cookies, crackers, and candy, cause spikes in your blood sugar and contribute to health conditions like diabetes, heart disease and even cancer. 

Refined carbohydrates have a higher glycemic index, which measures how carbohydrates are metabolized in the body. A higher glycemic index means that the carbohydrates are broken down too quickly in the body and cause rapid spikes in blood sugar. So what does this mean for the eyes? A study performed by Tufts University concluded that these refined carbohydrates damage the retina and the blood vessels around the eyes, and, along with risk factors like age and smoking, can lead to eye conditions such as glaucoma and AMD.⁷

While a carbohydrate-free diet may be impossible and unnecessary for most people, you can likely benefit from swapping out refined carbohydrates for more complex carbohydrates like whole-wheat bread, brown rice, and whole fruits and vegetables. 

Lifestyle Changes: balanced diet, working with the weather, taking regular breaks

Putting it all together

By now, you may realize that the worst foods for eyesight negatively impact your health overall. Because eye health and physical health are closely connected, this makes sense. What’s good for you is good for your eyes and vice versa. When it comes to caring for your eyes, making simple nutritional swaps and lifestyle modifications and adhering to a daily eyelid hygiene routine may be all you need to keep your eyes healthy and safe for years to come. 

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What’s next

Explore more ways to keep your eyes healthy in our Eye Health & Wellness blog.

Bibliography

  1. “Diet and Nutrition | AOA.” American Optometric Association, https://www.aoa.org/healthy-eyes/caring-for-your-eyes/diet-and-nutrition?sso=y. Accessed 23 March 2022.
  2. “The Effect of Lutein on Eye and Extra-Eye Health.” NCBI, 18 September 2018, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6164534/. Accessed 23 March 2022.
  3. Vimont, Celia. “The Benefits of Fish Oil for Dry Eye.” American Academy of Ophthalmology, 15 October 2020, https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/does-fish-oil-help-dry-eye. Accessed 23 March 2022.
  4. “Inflammation: What Is It, Causes, Symptoms & Treatment.” Cleveland Clinic, 28 July 2021, https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/21660-inflammation. Accessed 23 March 2022.
  5. “Association between dietary fats and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in the Carotenoids in Age-Related Eye Disease Study (CAREDS), an ancillary study of the Women’s Health Initiative 1, 2, 3.” NCBI, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3144752/. Accessed 23 March 2022.
  6. “How Salt Impacts Your Blood Pressure & More.” Cleveland Clinic Health Essentials, 2 December 2020, https://health.clevelandclinic.org/kidneys-salt-and-blood-pressure-you-need-a-delicate-balance/. Accessed 23 March 2022.
  7. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. “Association between dietary glycemic index and age-related macular degeneration in nondiabetic participants in the Age-Related Eye Disease Study.” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2007, https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/86/1/180/4754387?login=true. Accessed 22 March 2022.

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