You probably know that eating healthily reduces the risk of certain conditions, like heart disease, helps you maintain an optimal weight, and improves your energy levels. What you may not know, however, is that a balanced diet also benefits your eyes and can even prevent diseases that threaten your vision.
Make sure to include the following foods, suggested by All About Vision, in your kids’ diet.
Healthy Foods Good for Eye Health
- Cold-water fish. Salmon, sardines, tuna, and mackerel are all rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which can prevent dry eye, macular degeneration, and cataracts. You will also get the same benefits from nuts and vegetarian supplements made from blackcurrant seed or flaxseed oil.
- Green vegetables. Leafy greens, such as spinach, kale, and collard greens, along with some other green vegetables, like broccoli, peas, and avocado, contain lutein and zeaxanthin to slow the development of cataracts and macular degeneration.
- Legumes. Kidney beans, lentils, and black-eyed peas are full of zinc and bioflavonoids, great for protecting the retina.
- Other fruits and vegetables. A whole range of others, including carrots, strawberries, pumpkin, cantaloupe, and corn, contain high levels of vitamins A and C, which can reduce your risk of a number of eye diseases.
Encouraging Kids to Eat Well
It can be a struggle to get kids to eat healthily and to finish all their vegetables. Here are a few tried and tested tips from Parents:
- Combine new foods with old favorites. Introduce new ingredients to meals gradually to give children a chance to get used to one flavor before trying another.
- Use dip. If your kids are opposed to eating vegetables, cut up thin slices for dipping into something tasty.
- Sprinkle on some sugar. Over time, your kids will grow out of the need for sugar; for now, it means they are eating fruit.
- Cook together. It is much harder to resist a meal if you have helped to prepare it.
Another way to protect your children’s eye health is to keep them safe from UV rays. Find a pair of quality shades for everyday use in the Real Kids collection.