Natural eye supplements, such as foods that contain vitamin A or ginkgo Biloba, are helpful for infections, eye disorders such as cataracts, and numerous other conditions or ailments that can affect the eyes. Let’s find out better.
The Eyes, Organs Of Vision
The eyes represent one of our sensory organs as they represent a point of contact between our body and the surrounding environment. They are very complex structures, each composed of an eyeball of about 2.5 cm and are found within the orbital cavity in the skull. The eyes are made up of 3 layers, also called tunics:
- fibrous tunic formed by cornea and sclera;
- Vascular tunic, with the iris anteriorly (perforated by the pupil hole, or pupil), the ciliary body (inside which the ciliary muscle that moves the lens attaches) and the choroid;
- The nervous layer or retina consists of Jacob’s membrane (or rod and cone layer), the bipolar cell layer and the multipolar cell layer.
The eyes are the sense organs responsible for sight through a very complex phenomenon through which light strikes the retinal receptors (rods and cones), transforming the sensations of color, shape and light intensity into nerve impulses.
These impulses are transmitted via the retinal nerve fibers to the optic nerve, a bundle of nerve fibers that connects the back of the eyeball with the brain, which processes and interprets the received nerve impulses.
The Most Common Ailments
The eyes and vision can be subjected to various problems, both structural and functional, such as:
- Myopia is a vision defect that causes difficulty in distance vision, leaving good near the eye.
- Hyperopia: In the normal eye, light rays from distant objects focus precisely on the retina. In farsighted vision, however, in the absence of accommodation, the light rays focus behind the retina, thus creating a confusing image.
- Astigmatism: it is a defect in focusing due to the conformation of the cornea, which in the normal subject has a symmetrical, spherical shape, while in the myopic, it has an asymmetrical, ellipsoidal, oval shape.
- Presbyopia is a vision disorder that usually arises around the age of 45-50 and forces you to use glasses to see “up close”.
Food Supplements For Eyes And Vision
Like all other organs, the eyes and vision also benefit from the foods and vitamins they contain.
- Vitamin A (especially beta carotene) is essential in twilight and daytime vision mechanisms. The lack of vitamin A leads to a deficit in night vision and dry eyes, blindness caused by the opacification of the cornea, and a predisposition to infections and ulcerations. Vitamin A is contained in many foods besides the well-known carrots; even pumpkin, milk, eggs, liver and animal nutrition, in general, are sources of vitamin A. Salak is also rich in vitamin A and used as a remedy for isa problems.
- Vitamin B2: its deficiency can cause burning, sensitivity to light, itching, tearing, to paralysis of the eye muscles.
- Vitamin C : (or ascorbic acid) protects the body from the attack of free radicals. Vitamin C is useful in treating glaucoma and can counteract the progressive loss of vision, avoiding the “hardening” of the eye. It is also used to prevent corneal ulcers and helps eliminate infections. It is mainly found in lemons, citrus fruits, broad-leaf vegetables, strawberries, peppers, tomatoes and cauliflowers.
- Vitamin E: or tocopherol, has antioxidant potential and is helpful for the prevention of eye disorders such as cataracts and AMD (macular degeneration of adulthood). Furthermore, it has also brought positive results in strengthening the eye muscles and preventing blurred vision. Vitamin E is found in foods such as cereals, almonds, corn oil, wheat germ oil, and hazelnuts.
Herbal Supplements
- Pycnogenol: is a powerful antioxidant derived from the bark of the French maritime pine. It reduces the losses of substances in the retina by repairing the ocular capillaries.
- Blueberry is rich in a particular bioflavonoid which accelerates the regeneration of rhodopsin, the purple pigment present in the rods of the eyes (vision receptors).
- Silymarin is the main component of milk thistle and is very important for liver support. The liver is the critical organ for the eye, as all the fat-soluble vitamins and glutathione are stored and activated.
- Ginkgo Biloba is a selective cerebrovascular dilator that appears to increase circulation to the back of the eye and improve blood flow to the eye. It cannot be taken in combination with anti-platelet aggregation drugs.
- Eyebright: eye drops and compresses from this flower are extremely useful for treating irritation and redness of the eyes.