If You Stuff Yourself With Meat, You Ruin Your Eyesight

2024 Author: Jasmine Walkman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 08:29

Eating red meat ten or more times a week may increase the risk of vision loss, a study found. Excessive consumption of meat could lead to eye problems with advancing age.

Macular degeneration is a leading cause of severe vision loss in people aged 50 or older. The conditions or so-called risk factors that lead to vision loss in the center of the visual field (macula) are age, family history and smoking.

The latter was the only known risk factor that you could actually eliminate to reduce the risk of blindness.

An Australian study found that people who ate plenty of red meat or sausages in particular were prone to developing macular damage.

Researchers in Melbourne have been monitoring the diet and eye health of 5,604 men and women for ten years.

They found that people who ate red meat more than 10 times a week had a 50 percent higher risk of macular degeneration than those who ate meat 4 or less times a week. Also, people who eat a lot of salami or sausage are highly prone to this damage.

On the other hand, research has shown that eating chicken is beneficial and can even protect you from visual impairment.

If you are a fan of meat and meat products, do not worry - eat more chicken and beef. Numerous studies show that a diet rich in several nutrients, including vitamin C, vitamin E, lutein, zeaxanthin, selenium and zinc, can help maintain the health of your eyesight.

It is important to note that in addition to vision, eating larger amounts of red meat affects the overall health of the human body and life expectancy.

On the one hand, red meat is an excellent source of zinc, a nutrient very important for eye health. However, red meat and smoked red meat in particular contain chemical compounds called nitrosamines, which are harmful to your health.

Tips for optimal eye health:

Varied food

Eating fish twice a week is associated with a 24 to 33 percent reduction in the risk of macular damage. A varied diet with a healthy mix of plant foods rich in antioxidants, as well as protein choices that include fish, poultry, and red meat in moderation, are important for the health of your eyes.

Carrots

According to the American Optometric Association (AOA), orange vegetables are great for the eyes because they are filled with the nutritional beta-carotene, which is essential for our vision, but spinach and other dark leafy vegetables are the healthiest foods for the eyes in general. They contain nutrients that are key to eye health and have nowhere else to find them.

Never exclude from your menu:

1. Lutein and zeaxanthin contained in colorful fruits and vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, corn, green beans, peas, oranges, tangerines;

2. Essential fatty acids found in oily fish such as tuna, salmon, herring;

3. Whole grains;

4. Chicken and eggs;

5. Vitamin C found in fruits and vegetables, including oranges, grapefruit, strawberries, papaya, green peppers and tomatoes;

6. Vitamin E contained in vegetable oils such as saffron or corn oil, almonds, walnuts, sweet potatoes and sunflower.

7. Zinc found in extra-tender red meat, poultry, liver, mussels, milk, beans and whole grains.