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 Our body needs vitamins for normal vital activity. Among those are such vitamins, the deficiency in which affects our eyesight. For instance, it is known that absence (or scarcity) of vitamin A can cause visual impairment. However, excessive quantities of it can also cause negative consequences. B-group vitamins and the widely known vitamin C are also essential for good eyesight. Of all the micronutrients our vision is mostly supported by potassium. How to make our eyes get everything they need and manage all the visual load?
Firstly, your diet should be well-balanced. Please pay attention to
the fact that vitamins are broken down when heated (it especially
concerns vitamins B2 and C). Therefore, in order to preserve the
vitamins, it is recommended not to boil the vegetables containing those
vitamins, but to cover them with boiling water and then to muffle up.
However if you boil them, make the boiling time as short as possible.
Secondly,
the necessary vitamins can be obtained by taking special vitamin
complexes. For most of us the second way is the easiest and the most
affordable. Keep in mind that you shouldn't be taking too much of some
vitamin without consulting a specialist.
VITAMIN A (retinol) is
a part of rhodopsin converting the light, which gets on the retina,
into electric impulses; the latter enter brain and create visual
images. So decrease in visual acuity in the darkness is one of the
early symptoms of this vitamin deficiency. When its deficiency
intensifies, the eyes react painfully to bright light and its gleams.
Infection resistance is lost as well and then one is bothered by
frequent styes and conjunctivitis. Since lachrymal glands cease to
constantly moisturize the eye surface and fail to remove dirt and
destroy microbes, the cornea gets irritated and mortified, and with
time visual ability is lost. In order to prevent this, "feed up" your
eyes regularly with carrots, pumpkins, sea-buckthorn, apricots, greens
of parsley and lettuce - they are rich in provitamin A. So are sour
cream and cream - they already contain a ready-made vitamin A.
VITAMIN B2 (riboflavin). The deficiency in vitamin B2 reveals itself
variously. Excessive tearing, gripes in the eyes, nyctalopia, blurred
contours of objects, quick fatiguability of eyes, difficulties with
focusing an object - all these are the symptoms of a marginal
deficiency. If hypovitaminosis is sudden (for example, due to an
unexpected change of a diet), the skin in the inner eye-corner can get
cracked, red and inflamed. If a continuous deficiency in vitamin B2 is
experienced, one starts to confuse colours, see blurred objects, as if
they were dimmed, there appears an irridescent halo around the light.
Chronic deficiency in riboflavin triggers eye cornea inflammation and
nebula. Vitamin B2 is contained in whole-grain bread, cheese, kefir and
almonds. Riboflavin deficiency is most often caused by diseases of
gastrointestinal tract or antibiotics which hinder its assimilation.
VITAMIN C (ascorbic acid). Vitamin C protects the blood vessels of the
eye from fragility and transparency, prevents haemorrhage of the retina
and improves the blood supply of the eye. It has been noticed that
vitamin C can help slow down or even stop the evolvement of the
cataract. A glass of fresh orange juice or a high-vitamin citrus drink
is a splendid way to meet the daily need in ascorbic acid. However, one
should not take megadoses of vitamin C, as it can hamper the adequite
assimilation of B-group vitamins.
VITAMIN D (calciferol).
Scientists consider short-sightedness to be the consequence of
deficiency in vitamin D to a certain extent. This vitamin is
responsible for transportation and assimilation of calcium, which is
needed not only for forming bones and teeth but for regulating muscular
traction as well. Insufficient calcium assimilation causes frequent
cramps of the muscle which supports the lens and is responsible for eye
movements. Therefore sunbathe more often, especially if you stay in
most of the time, and emphasize foods containing this vitamin - fried
agarics or cepe. Fortified milk, kefir and yoghurts are rich in vitamin
D as well (they successfully combine this vitamin with calcium).
VITAMIN E (tocopherol). Scientific research comfirms that vitamin E
together with other vitamins-antioxidants (C and beta-carotene)
sufficiently lowers the risk of eye retina exfoliation. There are even
estimates that it is the deficiency in vitamin E which plays the
decisive role in the development of this illness. For the babies to
have enough of this vitamin, breastfeed as long as possible - breast
milk is an ideal source of tocopherol. Neither cowmilk, nor goatmilk
contain it. And adults should consume oil with vitamin E, nuts,
sunflower seeds and cereals more often.
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