Top 7 Ways to Protect Your Vision Naturally

Eat your carrots. Wear a visor or hat. Try lutein and zinc? What about bilberry? Eye health is vital. So how do you protect your vision?

If you haven’t had an eye exam lately, that’s essential. Many eye problems, such as glaucoma, progress slowly — with vision loss unnoticed until the disease is advanced.

In addition to having regular eye exams, changing some habits and improving your diet can enhance your chance of maintaining good eyesight well into advanced age. But it’s not a slam dunk. Millions of Americans have a visual impairment; many have chronic, age-related diseases such as glaucoma, macular degeneration, cataracts, and retinopathy.

Since 2000, rates of diabetic retinopathy have risen 89 percent — driven by an increase in diabetes, with 8 million people over 40 now showing signs of it. Some 2 million Americans 50 and older are affected by macular degeneration. Cataracts and glaucoma are also on the rise in people over 40. At the same time, funding for research into these diseases has been cut dramatically.

Taking care of your own eye health has never been more important. These tips from 500 Time-Tested Home Remedies and the Science Behind Them will help you do just that:

1. Go for a Daily Walk

Regular physical activity helps you stave off cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes— two risk factors for chronic eye disease.

2. Keep Your Weight in a Healthy Zone

Being overweight or obese increases inflammation and elevates the risk of high blood pressure, arterial disease, and diabetes — all enemies of the eye.

3. Wear Sunglasses

Ultraviolet light damages the eyes. The reflective power of snow, sand, and water magnifies the effects. And yes, UV penetrates clouds. Sunglasses should block 99 to 100 percent of UVA and UVS (two bands of ultraviolet light). A hat helps, too.

4. Manage Your Blood Glucose

High blood sugar contributes to cataracts and damages small arteries, including the delicate blood vessels in the retina, leading to diabetic retinopathy.

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