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Your Eye Health and Your Diet: 10 Foods That Impact How You See

Your Eye Health and Your Diet: 10 Foods That Impact How You See

Whether or not you’re a foodie, you know that the meals you consume greatly impact your overall health. When you’re ill, you eat chicken soup loaded with nutritious veggies, and you drink lots of orange juice to increase your vitamin C intake. After a few days, you feel right as rain.

But have you ever thought about how the foods you eat impact your eyes?

Interestingly, the food you consume has a huge impact on your ocular health. Below, you’ll find some of the worst and best foods for your eyes. Read on to discover which foods negatively impact your vision and which ones can help you see better.

Foods That Could Lead to Poor Eye Health

While you may love fast food or take out, those foods could harm your eye health or your vision. You’ll find some of the worst offenders below.

1. Fried Food

Hamburgers, french fries, and milkshakes are American comfort foods. Because there are dozens of burger joints around you, you may enjoy eating fast food on nights when you don’t have time to cook. But if you eat fried foods too often, all that oil can build up in your body and clog up your arteries.

As a result, you will likely experience high blood pressure, which can cause you to develop eye problems such as hypertensive retinopathy.

2. Margarine

Like fast foods, margarine is loaded with chemicals and oxidized fats. If you consume too many of these unhealthy fats, the cells in your body could mutate, and you may even notice inflammation as well.

3. Sugary Drinks

Do you enjoy drinking an ice-cold Coke with dinner? Or do you prefer drinking other sugary, carbonated drinks throughout the day? While you can definitely drink beverages that are sweetened with pure sugar, you should avoid drinks that are sweetened with sugars like high-fructose corn syrup.

Researchers have shown that drinks that use these kinds of sweeteners elevate triglyceride levels and further increase the risk for high blood pressure, which could in turn cause you to develop eye problems

Foods That Benefit Your Vision

Even if you do eat fast food occasionally, you can improve your eyesight and eye health by consuming any of the following foods on a regular basis.

1. Berries

Berries like bilberries, raspberries, and blackberries contain high levels of vitamin C and antioxidants. These components are incredibly helpful in boosting your immune system, deterring illnesses, and protecting your eyes.

You can also find high levels of vitamins and antioxidants in citrus fruits like oranges and grapefruits.

2. Corn

Corn contains high levels of zeaxanthin and lutein, two carotenoid pigments that aid in good eye health and vision. In fact, a half cup of corn provides almost two grams of these pigments. By consuming more of these pigments, you keep a steady supply in your body, and you greatly reduce your risk for developing eye issues like cataracts.

3. Eggs

Likewise, egg yolks are an easy source of zeaxanthin and lutein. The yolks also contain high levels of zinc, which your eyes need in order to function properly. As you consume more eggs, you lower your chances of developing macular degeneration.

4. Leafy Greens

A third source of zeaxanthin and lutein is dark, leafy greens. Vegetables like spinach, kale, chard, collard greens, Brussels sprouts, and broccoli have high levels of these pigments. So, the more of these veggies you consume, the more you increase the lutein and zeaxanthin pigments found in your macula and retina—and the more you increase how these parts of your eyes work.

5. Legumes

Black-eyed peas, kidney beans, lentils, and other legumes all contain zinc and bioflavonoids. The mineral and compound protect and assist your retina, so the more legumes you consume, the fewer retina-related eye issues you’ll develop over time.

6. Salmon

Fish that contains high levels of omega-3 acids can greatly benefit your health. As far as your eyes go, the omega-3s protect the blood vessels in your eyes. Blood heals the body, so the more blood has access to your eyes, the better your eye health.

7. Turkey

Thanksgiving is a great time to eat turkey, but you should consume more of this beneficial food throughout the year. Turkey contains a lot of B-vitamin, niacin, and zinc, and these vitamins and minerals help prevent cataracts.

Talk to Your Eye Doctor for More Tips

While you can reduce your consumption of fried, processed, or modified foods and increase your intake of beneficial foods, you can only do so much to impact your vision.

If you have any problems seeing, notice any signs of infection, or experience an eye injury, make an appointment with your eye doctor. He or she will perform a routine or in-depth examination, depending on your situation, and then tell you what other steps you must take to care for your eyes.

Additionally, your optometrist can give you more tips so you can further care for your eyes between eye appointments. To learn more, get in touch with an All About Eyes location near you.

Finding the Right Glasses for Your Face Shape

Finding the Right Glasses for Your Face Shape

When you need glasses, it’s always fun to pick a pair that matches your style. But you also want to choose something that looks good on you, especially if you wear your glasses on a daily basis. Some glasses may not look quite right with the shape of your face while others look lovely.

If you’re struggling to find the right glasses for your face shape, read on. We’ll discuss the different face shapes and which glasses are best for your face.

Round

Round faces are most recognized by a curved chin with full cheeks and a wider forehead. Essentially, the length and width of the face are fairly the same, and there aren’t any harsh angles.

With the curved nature of a round face, angular glasses are the best fit, and it’s a good idea to go with lenses that have more width than depth. Doing so can help your face look thinner and longer, and choosing glasses with rectangular lenses that curve up a bit towards the corners can help bring attention to your eyes and cheeks instead of your rounded chin.

Don’t go with any circular frames or frames that are small, as these can make your face look rounder. You should also stay away from frameless glasses.

Oval

Faces with an oval shape work with the most number of frames and are considered an ideal shape. The jawline is slightly curved and somewhat thinner than the forehead, and the cheekbones are somewhat high and angular. The length of the face is generally one and a half times the width of the face, giving it that oval silhouette.

Like round faces, angular frames are best for the curved nature of an oval face. Something with more rectangular lenses are a great option, but oval faces can pull off plenty of styles. If you have a style in mind, odds are it will work with your face shape. Just stay away from overly large glasses, as the oversized look can negatively affect the proportional appearance of an oval face.

Heart

If you have a narrow chin and a wide forehead with angled, high cheekbones, you may have a heart-shaped face. When choosing glasses, you’ve got to find lenses that work with the different widths of the face.

Selecting frames that are more bottom-heavy can help add width to the thin lower half of the face, and round or oval glasses can detract the width of your forehead. Stay away from frames that have decorative or heavy brow lines. This can put more focus on your forehead, making it look wider in contrast to your narrow chin.

Square

With square faces, the jaw is strongly shaped and more horizontal, and the forehead is wider. The length of the face is about the same as the width, creating a squarer outline.

Because square faces have strong angles, select frames with curves or softer corners. You’ll also want to look for frames that are wider than they are deep and sit high on the bridge of your nose. Oval glasses are a great choice, or if you want to go for rectangular glasses, find something without harsh angles. If you choose frames with sharp corners, it could make your face look more square or large.

Diamond

Though uncommon, diamond faces have more width at the cheekbones with narrower chins and foreheads, giving the face a distinct shape. The cheekbones are often sharp and high, being the most prominent feature of the face.

To accentuate the narrower forehead and detract attention from the cheekbones, go for frames that have bold or decorative brow lines, such as cat eye glasses. Or, if you want to go for something a little more subtle, try oval or frameless glasses.

Rectangle

Like oval faces, rectangle faces are longer than they are wide but with a stronger, horizontal jawline. The forehead and nose may be notably long, and the cheekbones might be high and prominent.

To diminish the long look of the face, try frames with decorative or bold brow lines. These can add an excellent horizontal element. Also, go for glasses that have more depth and sit lower on the bridge of the nose to help soften the length of the face. Rounder lenses can also detract from the angular lines of the face.

 

For glasses that both look great and match your style, consider your face shape and select your frames accordingly. If you aren’t sure what face shape you have, ask a friend or family member what they think you have, or ask them to help you choose a pair of glasses.

When it’s time to choose your eyeglasses, turn to specialist in your area, such as All About Eyes. They can help you find a pair that works best for you, and they can provide any eye care or advice you need.

Glimmer and Glam: Makeup Tips to Protect Your Eyes

Glimmer and Glam: Makeup Tips to Protect Your Eyes

You like to make your eyes pop. No matter what color they are, your eyes make a statement. And you want to make this facial feature stand out by accenting it with makeup.

Whether you use minimal makeup or you go all out, all that glimmer and glam actually has an effect on your eye health.  To reduce your risk for makeup-induced eye issues, we’ve provided seven tips you can use as you apply or remove your makeup. Read on to see how these simple steps can boost your eye health.

1. Start With a Clean Face and Clean Hands

Before you apply any kind of makeup, wash both your face and your hands. Over time, small amounts of debris, like fibers, dust, and bacteria can get on your skin. The debris or bacteria could accidentally transfer from your hands or skin to your eyes—and your eyes could become irritated. Washing your hands and face removes most of the debris and bacteria, reducing your risk of irritation.

2. Toss Your Expired Cosmetics

All cosmetics have an expiration date—in fact, you shouldn’t hold onto an open, used bottle or palette for more than two or three months. If your bottle of foundation or your tube of mascara is still full, you may feel tempted to use that makeup until it’s gone. However, bacteria thrive in moist, dark environments, and your cosmetics tubes, brushes, and sponges provide the perfect home for them.

As soon as you open tube of mascara or a container of eyeshadow, write the current date on the top or bottom in permanent marker. Or, you can write a date three months in advance. Either way, the date serves as a constant, visual reminder that you should throw away the makeup and buy a new one. By throwing away expired makeup, you reduce your risk of getting bacteria near your eyes that could cause an infection.

3. Don’t Share Makeup

Every person has different bacteria on their bodies. So when you share makeup with another person, you introduce new bacteria to your eyes and skin. Additionally, that person could have an eye infection or another issue and accidentally cause you to develop the same problem.

When you don’t share your makeup, you can use your makeup without posing as big a risk to your eye health

4. Apply Makeup Carefully

Think back on when you first learned to apply makeup. You probably had some smudging, or you even got mascara or eyeliner in your eyes. Now, you’ve learned how to put makeup on like a pro. You know that taking time is everything if you want your makeup to look perfect.

But when you’re in a rush, you likely aren’t as careful as you should be. You may accidentally poke your eye with your mascara wand or eyeliner. Those accidents, though, can accidentally scratch your eye. Or, if you use an eyelash separator (or similar tool), you could also scratch your eye and damage it. Every time you apply makeup, no matter how much time you have, do so carefully.

5. Look Out for Signs of an Eye Infection

Even if you take care to avoid an eye infection, you can still get one. For example, a child with pink eye may accidentally transfer the virus to you. If you’ve used your makeup while you’ve had an eye infection, those bacteria or viruses can remain in your makeup. The next time you apply eyeshadow or mascara, you expose yourself to the bacteria and increase your risk for another infection.

The easiest way to avoid this issue is to look out for signs of infection, such as redness in or around the eyes, watery eyes, or puffiness. If you see any of these signs, dispose of your makeup and see an eye doctor immediately for treatment.

6. Take Care If You Wear Contacts

If you need corrective lenses, chances are you wear contacts so you can display your ocular artwork. However, contacts can easily trap makeup between the lens and your eye. Always put your contacts in before applying makeup and use extra caution to keep makeup out of your eye.

7. Remove Makeup Before Bed Each Night

While you sleep, you may rub your eyes with your hands accidentally, or smudge your eye makeup against your pillow. If you wear your makeup as you sleep, you risk getting it in your eyes and causing irritation. To keep your eyes healthy, and to improve your skin, remove your makeup before bed each night. Use a makeup remover that’s gentle on the eyes to further prevent irritation.

Trust Your Eye Doctor to Care for Your Eyes

The tips listed above can help keep your eyes safe from makeup-caused infections and issues. While you can use these and similar tips to preserve your eye health on a daily basis, you should ultimately trust your eye health to your optometrist.

If you see any signs of infection or if you experience any problems with your vision, contact your eye doctor at All About Eyes. When you visit one of our locations, we’ll examine your eyes, make a diagnosis, and provide appropriate treatment to cure any eye infections or correct your vision.