Every human being is the author of his own health and disease. This line is so true that one needs to take care of their own health else they are the one’s responsible for their own deformity. Being healthy is not just confined to staying fit, following healthy diet or taking proper medication whenever there is a health issue. We come across many people who always complain about their vision problems, and still consider it as an unimportant task to take care at that moment. But in the due course, it will turn out to be one of the major health issues of your overall body.
Ocular nutrition is essential to maintain eye health and vision. It deals with almost each and every individual parts of your eye like the cornea, macula, pupil, retina, iris, lens, optic nerve and the vitreous humor.
Aging, dust, genetics, exposure to automobile/ chlorine fumes, continuously straining your eyes by trying to observe the distant objects or by facing the computer screen for long hours can be some of the reasons affecting your eyesight. Sometimes ultra violet rays reaching your eyes can harm the retina, lens and especially macula part of your eye as it is sensitive to the light. Well, there are many ways that helps you in improving your vision/ eyesight.
Some foods are very rich in offering you the right proteins and vitamins which helps you to reap benefits from natural diets. Also there are some exercises that make your eyes stress free and to maintain a healthy look. Here I suggest you some simple warm up exercises that helps you in reducing the eye strain and the necessary dietary plans to improve your eye sight.
Simple Exercises That Help You Relieve from Vision Stress:
In our every daily life, we exercise our regular body parts, and ignore the sensitive parts like eyes. There are some eye exercises that helps you in minimizing the eye strain and help you see better as well. Try out these following warm ups right from your home or work place.
Palming Exercise:
- Initially rub your hands thoroughly until they feel warm for about 20 seconds. Now, rest your hands over your closed eyes and remember that your palm should never touch your eyes. Your fingers should be gently overlapped on the center of your forehead.
- Don’t pressurize your face with your hands and make yourself feel relaxed with this exercise. You can continue with this exercise for about 2 to 3 minutes.
Palming exercise not only relaxes your eyes but also helps you to regain the lost energy to your eyes.
Tromboning Exercise:
- In this exercise you need to hold an object at arm’s length inhale, and then move the object in to touch the tip of your nose.
- You would then exhale, look at the object and move it back out.
Tromboning exercise improves the control over the extra- ocular muscles and stimulates the flow of nutrients inside the eyes.
Scanning Exercise:
- All you need to do is stand or sit at some corner of your room and carefully observe each and every object by allowing your eyes to scan the entire room.
- Continue this exercise for about 2 minutes and stop it if you feel a bit strained. Remember to breathe while doing this exercise.
Scanning exercise helps you to increase the flexibility of your eyes and to encourage the faster progress of your eyes.
Temple Massage:
- Massage the side of your head on the level with the eyes with your finger points by closing your eyes.
- Continue this exercise for about 5 to 10 minutes until you completely feel strain free.
This exercise helps in improving the blood circulation through your optic nerves that transmits the visual information from retina to brain.
Hydrotherapy:
- Place a bowl of hot and cold water separately in front of you. Put a wash cloth in each of the bowl.
- Now dip the wash cloth in hot water and place them against your closed eyes for 30 seconds. Repeat the same after dipping the wash cloth in cold water.
- Continue this for about 2 minutes by alternatively placing the hot and cold water wash cloths against your eyes.
This helps in relieving the stress and strain from your eyes and cools them. Practicing these simple exercises helps you to keep your eyes healthy and reduces vision stresses one commonly faces in daily routines.
Diet Plans Which Help You to Strengthen Eyesight:
Let us now concentrate on the diet plans that help you to reduce the risk of vision loss and strengthen eyesight.
Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, beta carotene, selenium are the essential nutrients to reduce cataract risks and degeneration of macula. Adding to these include even the following to your diet.
Essential Fatty Acids:
Essential fatty acids are necessary for the proper functioning of your body. Our body don’t produce these fats, so it is necessary to increase the intake of rich diet containing these fats. They help with cellular development and in the formation of cellular membranes. The following are the two types of essential fatty acids that helps you to prevent eyesight issues.
Omega 3 Fatty Acids:
Omega 3 fatty acids are essential to improve the nerve conduction in retina. Helps in reducing the macular degeneration of the eye and glaucoma conditions.
- Daily need: 1500mg- 3000mg
- Foods: Dark leafy vegetables, tofu, soya beans, walnuts and walnut oils, flax seeds (ground), seed oil, cold water fish (sardines, salmon, halibut).
Omega 6 Fatty Acids:
These acids protects one’s eyes and other cells in the body from deterioration. These are not generated by body, so one has to take them through diet or supplements.
- Daily need: 1500mg
- Foods: Over 70% of these fatty acids can be gained through linoleic acid, vegetable safflower, sunflower oil, grape seed etc.,
The ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 fatty acids should range from 1:1 to not more than 4:1. These fatty acids do help in reducing macular degeneration and glaucoma conditions.
Carotenoids:
Carotenoids are the organic pigments founds in plants and in some photosynthetic organisms. In humans, four carotenoids namely beta carotene, alpha carotene, gamma carotene and beta cryptoxanthin have vitamin A activity. Vitamin A plays a key role in humans to improve eyesight and thus helps in having a clearer vision of sight.
Bilberry:
It is prominently know as the vision herb and it shows wonderful affects in reducing all vision problems.
- Daily need: 180- 240mg
- Foods: Huckleberry
- Recommended: Jarrow Formulas Bilberry
Lutein:
It is an antioxidant that protects the eyes from free radical changes caused by UV radiations. In general it is a yellow pigment found in macula and lens part of the eyes.
- Daily need: 6- 20mg
- Foods: Spinach, lettuce, broccoli, mustard greens, corn, etc.
- Recommended: Natures Made Lutein