Eye Health Tips for Your 20’s and 30’s

Before we jump into tips for maintaining proper eye health during your 20’s and 30’s, we need to start by saying that you should know if you fall into a high-risk category for eye problems. This can be determined by factors such as:

• Family history of eye disease or congenital eye disorders
• Diabetes or hypertension
• Visually demanding or eye-hazardous jobs

Eye health should be a concern for anyone who wishes to be able to see, but this is especially important if any of those factors apply to you.

While you are still younger (trust us, just because you turned 30 doesn’t mean you’re old!), now is the right time to establish good habits and take appropriate measures for protect your eyes. Whether or not you’re in a high-risk category, things you should do to minimize your risk of eye problems include:

• Eat a balanced diet. As part of your healthy diet, choose foods like leafy, green vegetables and fish, which are rich in antioxidants. In addition to antioxidants, fish also contain omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids are essential to the health of the macula (central part of the retina) – the part of your eye responsible for central vision.

An inadequate intake of antioxidants (or excessive consumption of alcohol or saturated fats) may create free-radical reactions that can harm the macula. High-fat diets can also cause deposits that constrict blood flow in the arteries. The eyes are especially sensitive to this, given the small size of the blood vessels that feed them.

• Don’t smoke. Hopefully you don’t need another reason—beyond the countless ones you probably already know—not to smoke, but there’s another – smoking exposes your eyes to high levels of oxidative stress. Further, smoking increases your risk for an array of health conditions affecting the eyes (along with other areas of the body).
• Exercise on a regular basis. You can improve blood circulation with an exercise regimen. In turn, this improved blood flow removes toxins and increases oxygen levels to your eyes.
• Wear sunglasses. Ultraviolet (UV) light can be quite harmful, so protect your eyes from it with an appropriate pair of sunglasses. In this regard, you want to find pairs that offer both UVA and UVB protection (read the label to be sure). In addition to your new shades, wear a hat with a brim to reduce the amount of UV radiation that slips around the side of them.

A regular eye exam is the best way to protect your eyesight – and an easy precaution to take. To start, you only need to make a phone call to our Zeeland, MI office! Contact Sight Eye Clinic today for more information or to request an appointment by calling (616) 772-2020.