Thanksgiving - Eat for Eyes - Bella Eye Care Optometry

Thanksgiving is always when our eyes are bigger than our stomachs. We all tend to ply too much food onto our plates. The joke, of course, is how many of us wear our fat pants to accommodate all we eat. Did you know that a number of traditional Thanksgiving dishes are actually good for your eyes? Let us share just a few:

We start with the turkey of course. No Thanksgiving is complete without a turkey, roasted golden brown and stuffed with fresh vegetables and herbs. Turkey is loaded with zinc and B-vitamin niacin, which helps prevent the formation of cataracts. Cataracts are the leading cause of vision loss in the United States, so enjoy that turkey drumstick. You could be preventing cataracts with every bite.

Green bean casserole and other leafy greens are loaded with lutein and zeaxanthin, which may also help reduce the risk of cataracts and macular degeneration.

Cranberry sauce contains bioflavonoids, a large class of antioxidants. Bioflavonoids are found in the pulp, skin, and rinds of foods that contain vitamin C. Both flavonoids and vitamin C help protect the eyes from free radical damage caused by pollution and the body’s normal metabolic processes.

Pumpkin pie one of the sweetest ways of getting vitamin A, so pumpkin pie is an eye-healthy dessert. In fact, one cup of cooked, mashed pumpkin contains more than 200 percent of the recommended daily intake of Vitamin A. Vitamin A provides nourishment and protection to the eye’s macula, lens, and cornea and improves night vision.

So, eat up and enjoy Thanksgiving. You can blame overeating on trying to make sure your vision is fed too.

There are those in our community who will not be able to have a Thanksgiving meal such as most of us will. We ask that especially at this time of year when we all like to count our blessings that you remember those less fortunate, who have less to be thankful for by making a donation to a local food bank for the holidays.

Here are just a few:

Alameda County Community Food Bank – (510) 775-2527 – 7900 Edgewater Drive – East Oakland