Spinach is a leafy, green vegetable that contains many beneficial vitamins and minerals that may help protect your eyes from certain types of eye disease. The nutrients found in spinach will not improve your vision, nor will spinach treat or resolve eye diseases. However, spinach may provide other benefits toward healthy eyes.
Nutrients
Spinach contains nutrients that researchers believe may help promote healthy eyes. These nutrients beneficial to the eyes include lutein, vitamin A and vitamin C. In addition, spinach also contains a number of other nutrients, such as vitamin K, folic acid and iron. Research has not determined that these nutrients play a role in eye health.
Benefits
Even though spinach cannot improve or change your vision, the lutein, vitamin A and vitamin C found in spinach may help prevent eye diseases such as macular degeneration and cataracts. Macular degeneration is a condition that permanently damages your central vision, and treatments do not generally improve visual acuity. As such, prevention, or simply slowing down the disease process, may help protect vision. In addition, the nutrients found in spinach may help slow the progression of cataracts, a condition that typically requires surgery to restore vision.
Additional Sources
You should not rely solely on spinach to provide the necessary nutrients to promote good vision and healthy eyes. In addition to spinach, foods rich in lutein include kale, collard greens, corn and broccoli. Vitamin C-rich foods include grapefruit, oranges, strawberries and bananas. Foods with vitamin A include carrots, cantaloupe and beef liver.
Considerations
Before you consume large amounts of spinach or other nutrient-rich foods, you should talk with your doctor. She can evaluate your medical condition and medications to determine if high doses of certain nutrients, such as those found in spinach, may cause complications or interactions. Your doctor may recommend selecting a wide variety of healthy foods to ensure that you have a well-rounded dietary intake. If your diet cannot provide you with the necessary nutrients for your eyes, your doctor may recommend a daily supplement.
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