People who eat a diet rich and varied in nutrients, exercise, and do not smoke are less likely to develop diseases.

Who has not played, as a child, to close their eyes and try to move around the room without stumbling? An entertainment that demonstrated how important the sense of sight is for human beings and made us aware of what its deterioration means. Aware of its importance, the World Health Organization (WHO) published, in 2020, the World Vision Report. The document indicates that at least 2.2 billion people suffer from visual impairment or blindness and, of them, nearly 1 billion have a visual impairment that could have been avoided or that has not yet been treated.

The text points out that the growth and aging of the population, together with changes in behavior and lifestyle and urbanization “will significantly increase the number of people with eye conditions, visual impairment and blindness in the coming decades.”
Para mantener la vista en las mejores condiciones posibles no solo es conveniente hacer un seguimiento de la vista, visitando regularmente a los profesionales de este ámbito, sino también prestar atención a las enfermedades, que pueden afectarla, y, además, a nuestra dieta diaria que, sin lugar a dudas, es un elemento muy a tener en cuenta para mantener la salud ocular en el mejor estado posible.

There are eye diseases whose appearance and progression can be related to some ailments where diet can influence their good or bad progress. An example could be diabetes, because if blood sugar levels are continuously high, which is known as chronic hyperglycemia, they can cause multiple complications, including diabetic retinopathy. Some foods cause rapid spikes in blood sugar (high glycemic index) and others raise blood sugar more moderately (low glycemic index). “Consumption of these seconds helps maintain better blood sugar control in patients with diabetes and, therefore, will help prevent complications associated with this ailment,” says Adolfo Espino, ophthalmologist at the University Hospital of Fuenlabrada.

On the other hand, in patients who are at risk of suffering from age-related macular degeneration (AMD), or who already suffer from it in an early stage, “it is advisable to reduce cardiovascular risk, due to its relationship with the appearance and progression of said disease.” macular disease. In these cases, it is advisable to eliminate or reduce the consumption of red meat as much as possible,” explains Espino.

Likewise, in the case of AMD “a diet poor in natural carotenoids, which we obtain mainly from colorful fruits and green leafy vegetables, or in antioxidant nutrients such as vitamins A, C and E can lead to its progression,” he warns. this ophthalmologist. At this point we must take into account the risk that restrictive or monofood diets pose for the development of general health problems associated with nutrient deficiency. “In the case of vision, there would be malabsorption of fat-soluble vitamins (A and E) or vitamin B1 (thiamine) in patients undergoing surgery with intestinal bypass for the treatment of obesity,” he warns.

There are clinical studies that link the consumption of certain micronutrients with a beneficial effect on vision. “Some of these nutrients would be vitamin C, zinc, lutein, zeaxanthin and omega 3 fatty acids,” declares Fernando González del Valle, head of the Ophthalmology Service at the Hospital La Mancha-Centro de Alcázar de San Juan (City Real). Oranges, kiwis, strawberries, tomatoes and broccoli are foods rich in vitamin C.

To have a good reserve of vitamin E we should eat avocados, almonds and olive oil. Zinc, which is also very important for the eyes, is found in dairy products, legumes, nuts, eggs and seafood. Lutein and zeaxanthin are very necessary for the function of the noblest part of the retina and are found in broccoli, cabbage, spinach, chard, asparagus, raspberries, mango, papaya and lettuce. Omega 3 fatty acids are very abundant in oily fish.

An adequate and balanced diet, which helps us control overweight, and avoid smoking and other toxic habits, would be enough to avoid micronutrient deficiencies that could be involved in visual problems. “However, patients with AMD can benefit from dietary supplements, which must be prescribed by an ophthalmologist that could favor a more benign course of this serious eye disease,” says González.

The AREDS-2 study, a multicenter randomized clinical trial carried out on a large number of patients, has made it possible to know which vitamin and mineral supplementation is appropriate in composition and quantity to reduce the risk of AMD progression. “By consensus, among the different medical societies and based on scientific evidence, supplementation with vitamins and minerals is recommended in patients with forms of AMD in an intermediate stage to prevent it from progressing to advanced forms with severe irreversible visual loss,” he adds. the specialist from the Fuenlabrada University Hospital. Likewise, this ophthalmologist advises choosing, within the wide range of vitamin supplements to prevent visual loss in patients with intermediate AMD, those that clearly respect the composition and quantity of each nutrient proposed by the AREDS-2 study in a single tablet. “This is of utmost importance, since the objective is to offer a chronic treatment that only involves taking one tablet daily, facilitating patient compliance,” he adds.