Foods to Improve Eye Health

Hi, I'm Jordan Rubin and welcome to Ancient Medicine Today. We have a great topic that you will want to keep your eyes on. We're going to talk about eye health, and if you're interested in eye health, which believe it or not, most people as they age are more concerned with the health of their eyes, maintaining their eyesight, their functionality than they are with various disease risks. Pretty amazing. So, we're going to talk about how to improve your eye health, dealing with macular degeneration ,as well as improving near-sightedness and far-sightedness. And if you are loving this information, make sure to share it.

Send this to anyone you know who has eyes. So let's get started. Foods that improve your eye health. And folks, you should know this by now, Ancient Medicine Today shares amazing information that can transform your health in multiple systems and functions.

So, the bottom line is, if you're consuming foods that help your eyes, they're going to help other parts of your body as well, particularly your brain. Let's get started. Number one, sockeye salmon. If you are a regular viewer of Ancient Medicine Today, then there is no shortage of salmon recommendations. But let me tell you why specifically we recommend sockeye salmon. First and foremost, wild sockeye salmon is the richest source of astaxanthin which is an antioxidant similar to beta-carotene but, in my opinion, more powerful. It quenches singlet oxygen radicals which can do damage to the brain and the eyes.

Also sockeye salmon is a great source of omega-3 fatty acids which are also important for the health of your eyes. So, when you're looking at eye health, think about antioxidants and good fats. If you are fat deficient, you could have dry eyes. People think it's about being dehydrated, no it's fat deficient. And if you don't have antioxidants, particularly those we're going to talk about in a moment, you can have damage to your macula. I'm Jordan Rubin, this is Ancient Medicine Today here at the Dr. Axe offices in Tennessee, and we're broadcasting live, talking to you about six foods to improve your eye health. Number two, eggs.

The incredible, edible egg. For years eggs were vilified thinking that they raised cholesterol because they contain cholesterol. Here's something that you should know. In addition to powerful protein, in addition to vitamins and minerals including B12 and vitamin E, eggs, particularly the yolk, contain lutein. And we're going to talk about another source of lutein that you see on the screen, spinach. Also you can get lutein in supplements, but did you know that egg yolks contain lutein that antioxidant that helps the eyes, again the macula? Lutein is four times more bio-available when you consume it in egg yolks than when you consume it in supplements.

People say, "Well, Jordan what way do you consume eggs?" Here's what I've heard in the past and I believe to be true. If you will keep the yolk intact through soft boiled, poached, hard boiled or even fried, call it over medium, we used to call it sunny side up eggs, still do sometimes, bulls eye eggs, whatever you want to call it, keeping the yolk intact is less likely to cause oxidized cholesterol, so eat eggs. I try to eat 6 to 12 a day and my cholesterol levels, particularly my HDL, are excellent. So, egg yolks contain lutein, sockeye salmon, astaxanthin, great for your eyes. Number three, sweet potato. I could have gone a lot of different directions here.

Could have talked about carrots, pumpkin, but sweet potato is a supreme source of beta-carotene. And let's face it, when you ask even a child what nutrient is best for your eyes, they will answer vitamin A. Now, sweet potato has something called pre-vitamin A, which means that the beta carotene in sweet potato converts to retinol or pro-vitamin A. Very important.

Now, here's a tip. Eating sweet potatoes are great, but if you want to get the most benefit for your eyes and your immune system and your lungs, because beta-carotene helps all of those, consume sweet potato with some fat. Consume it with some ghee or butter to help absorb the carotenoids.

Carotenoids and antioxidants are better absorbed with fat which is why salmon is so ideal because it contains astaxanthin and fat. Number four, spinach. The number one source of dietary lutein, again, this helps the macula. Why is that important if you're young? Folks, here's the deal. As we age, our macula begins to degenerate and when it does, we lose function in our eyes.

My mother-in-law has an inability now to drive at night and she's really not driving long distances at all, and she's just 70. Only problem is, my father-in-law has a genetic eye disorder where he doesn't have rods and cones in his eyes – you’ve heard of those – and he is color blind and has never driven. So now, I have two in-laws that are unable to drive and that's in part due to my mother-in-law Janie's macular degeneration. She's getting injections, she's getting treatments. It's really difficult.

The best way to fight back is to consume these six foods to improve eye health. Spinach can be juiced, spinach can be sautéed. Again, use fat. I love sautéing spinach in olive oil, and it's great in salads. Folks, you might have heard of oxalates. If you're prone to kidney stones, you may want to be careful about spinach consumption or at least a lot of it.

Spinach also contains vitamin K which is great for the bones, chlorophyll which is great for the blood. Folks, I'm Jordan Rubin here on Ancient Medicine Today and if you're loving this information about improving your eye health, your eyesight, reducing the risk of age related ocular degeneration and you just want to see for a long time because you are going to live a long time, love this message, like this message and most importantly, share this message because we're here each and everyday, Dr. Josh Axe or myself or both of us, to transform your health because we believe that food is medicine. The number five food to improve your eyesight, bilberry or blueberry. Now, bilberry is a European blueberry. Blueberries or bilberries have anthocyanins. Remember folks, when it comes to eye health, what are we looking for? Antioxidants and fats.

Blueberry or bilberry is a great source of antioxidants. Any purple or blue food or black foods such as dark grapes, black rice, have anthocyanins which protect the eyes and the brain. Remember what I said earlier, if you're going to improve your eye health, you're going to also get a side benefit of improving brain health. This whole area is going to improve, pretty awesome. We also know blueberries are good for the gut, blueberry is good for the immune system, it's just good all together.

I recommend consuming eight ounces to a cup of blueberries a day. Fresh are in season sometimes, frozen all the time. Here's a blueberry tip. The smaller the size usually is a Maine blueberry or wild blueberry.

They're less sweet, which is why they can be less popular, but they're richer in antioxidants because the skin and the seeds are where most of the antioxidants and nutrition come. So, bilberry and blueberry, you can consume bilberry tea, you can consume, bilberry and supplements, but I like the good old-fashioned food. They're also great in smoothies because fat helps you absorb antioxidants. That's food number five to improve your eye health. And number six, butter or ghee.

Folks, I've said it time and time again in this program. Fat and antioxidants improve your eyes. Butter or ghee, especially if it's from grass fed cows, you can also make butter or ghee from goats or sheep, contains vitamin A and also beta-carotene. That's the yellow, beta-carotene gets transferred from the grasses into the food. Consuming butter or ghee with sweet potato, with spinach or on its own is absolutely amazing for your eye health, your brain health, your heart health. It's just good all over. So we're excited, folks, that you're going to be able to see and have healthy eyes for a long, long time.

And it's really important to understand that food can be medicine, not just for your body, not just for your muscles, but for areas that are difficult to reach such as your eye health. And it is one of the most common concerns of people as they age, maintaining healthy eyes. It is so important for us to function, and now you can improve your eye health, your eyesight like you never thought possible. So let's go over today's program on Ancient Medicine. The six foods to improve eye health include sockeye salmon because it's loaded with astaxanthin and omega-3s, the perfect antioxidant fat combo. Get it fresh, frozen or canned usually available year round. Eggs, particularly the yolk, high-end lutein more absorbable than supplements, great for your macula, holding your eye health in good shape. Sweet potatoes are a rich source of beta carotene, pre -itamin A, which is great for eyesight also other parts of the body.

Consume it with some fat for more absorption. Spinach, the richest plant source of lutein is also amazing. Sautéed, juiced or in salads, it's great with either a dressing of olive oil, sautéed in olive oil or coconut oil or ghee as we'll talk about in a moment.

Billberry, blueberry one of the most powerful foods for eye health due to the anthocyanins, the purple or blue pigment it contains. Eat a cup a day in smoothies or just as a nice dessert, great with yogurt. And last but not least, butter or ghee from grass-fed cows, pasture raised cows, is a great source of beta-carotene, vitamin A and a good source of fats to help you absorb those antioxidants. So folks, I'm Jordan Rubin, here on Ancient Medicine Today, helping you improve your eye health. If you've loved this information and you know people that have eyes, share this message so they can put their eyes on the information that will transform their health.

Make sure to share this video, post this video, get it out there because I don't know about you, but I haven't heard a lot of good information on improving eye health lately. And I know I need it, so do you. And we're here because we believe food is medicine and we want to transform your health. Now remember, folks, stay tuned each and everyday at 10:30 Central Time where we're streaming live Ancient Medicine Today.

Dr. Josh Axe and myself, one or the other or both will be here to give you information you can't get anywhere else. On behalf of Dr. Axe, I'm Jordan Rubin wishing you amazing eye health.