Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables can help keep your eyes in good shape. You may know that the vitamin A in carrots aids night vision. There are other whole food fruits and vegetables that help prevent two common aging-related eye diseases - cataract and macular degeneration. This disease afflicts millions of Americans over age sixty-five. Cataract is the gradual clouding of the eye's lens, a disk of protein that focuses light on the light-sensitive retina. Macular degeneration is caused by cumulative damage to the macula, the center of the retina. It starts as a blurred spot in the center of what you see. As the degeneration spreads, vision shrinks.
Free radicals generated by sunlight, cigarette smoke, air pollution, infection, and metabolism cause much of this damage. Dark green leafy vegetables contain two pigments, lutein and zeaxanthin, that accumulate in the eye. These two appear to be able to snuff out free radicals before they can harm the eye's sensitive tissues.
In general, a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains appears to reduce the chances of developing cataract or macular degeneration.
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