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You can
be an eyesore . . . or you can be eye candy! Clear, vibrant eyes show that you
are on top of the world. By following my Beauty Diet, you can protect
your beautiful eyes and your precious sight. Here are some specific diet
tips to keep your eyes sparkling:
*Eat plenty of foods rich in fresh vitamin
C,
which not only is an eye-protective antioxidant, but also nourishes your
natural beauty in countless other ways. Among my Top 10 Beauty Foods,
you’ll find lots of vitamin C in blueberries, kiwi, sweet potatoes, spinach,
and tomatoes. You can increase your daily dose of vitamin C by eating foods
like peppers, grapefruit, oranges, strawberries, lemons, and broccoli. (For
more information, see Beauty benefits Top 10 Beauty Foods.)
*Eat lots of whole, natural foods that
contain the fat-soluble antioxidant vitamin E to protect the lipids in
your lovely eyes. Among my Top 10 Beauty Foods, you’ll
find vitamin E in walnuts, blueberries, kiwifruit, spinach, and tomatoes.
Other foods rich in vitamin E include peaches, prunes, cabbage, asparagus,
avocados, and nuts and seeds. (For more information, see Beautybenefits Top 10 Beauty Foods.)
*Increase your intake of beta-carotene, which has antioxidant effects
and which the body converts into vitamin A, an important eye nutrient that
helps the eye adapt from bright light to darkness. Among my Top 10 Beauty Foods, you’ll find significant amounts of beta-carotene in sweet potatoes, spinach,
kiwi, and tomatoes. You can also add beta-carotene to your diet with foods like
pumpkin, carrots, chilies, mangoes, cantaloupe, and apricots. Among my Beauty benefits Top 10 Beauty Foods, good sources of retinol, the active form of vitamin
A found in animal sources, are oysters, yogurt, and salmon. Other sources
include milk, cheddar cheese, and eggs.
*Consume foods rich in lutein and
zeaxanthin,
the related carotenoids that are especially protective of your enchanting eyes.
One recent study published in Skin Pharmacology and Physiology showed
that lutein and zeaxanthin provide photoprotection when used topically, orally,
or both—but the dietary approach shows the most promise. Specifically, the study
concluded that oral administration of lutein may provide better protection than
that afforded by topical application of this antioxidant when measured by
changes in lipid peroxidation and photoprotective activity in the skin following UV light irradiation. Among my Top 10 Beauty Foods, lutein and
zeaxanthin are found in spinach, blueberries, kiwifruit, and tomatoes. They are
also found in egg yolks, as well as in green vegetables such as kale, turnip
greens, collard greens, romaine lettuce, broccoli, zucchini, corn, garden peas,
and Brussels sprouts. The lutein in egg yolks appears to be more bioavailable.
Research has revealed that eating one egg a day significantly raises lutein and
zeaxanthin levels.
*Eat plenty of foods rich in zinc. This mineral is
essential to eye function, and its antioxidant effects protect the tissues of the
eye from the damaging effects of UV light. Zinc also has countless other
beauty benefits. Among my Top 10 Beauty Foods, oysters are a
super source of zinc. You also can add more zinc to your diet with meats,
seafood, liver, milk and other dairy products, beans, and whole grains.
*Increase your intake of omega-3 fatty
acids,
the super beauty food that supports healthy eyes. Choose
cold-water fish like salmon, mackerel, herring, sardines, and trout. Add walnuts,
spinach, flax, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, and soybeans to your diet (for more
information, see Beauty benefits Top 10 Beauty Foods).
*Avoid sugar. It has been known for a
long time that the high blood sugar levels associated with diabetes harm the
lens of the eye. Now scientists have determined that even if you don’t have
diabetes, you are putting your eyes at risk if you regularly consume
carbohydrates that quickly raise your blood sugar level. A 2007 article in the American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition concluded that a high-glycemic-index diet
significantly increases the risk of age-related macular degeneration in people
who do not have diabetes.
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