A few things distinguish fall from the other seasons: the color of the leaves, the brisk
This fall, don’t just carve your pumpkins for Halloween or serve pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, incorporate pumpkin into your regular diet. Pumpkins are a superfood for your eyes, providing copious amounts of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and other antioxidants. Here is a deeper look into the benefits eating pumpkin can have for your eyes.
Preventing Macular Degeneration
Macular degeneration is a major cause of adult-onset blindness. A study by the National Eye Institute found that the Vitamin A and Vitamin C in pumpkin work together to significantly reduce the risk of developing advanced macular degeneration.Sharper Eyesight
Pumpkins are high in zinc, essential to the overall health of your eyes. According to sweye.com, “Zinc not only enables vitamin A to navigate from the liver to the retina to form melanin (an eye-protecting pigment), it also slows progression of age-related macular degeneration, and helps to reduce the loss of visual sharpness by 19%.”Filter Damaging Light
Almost like sunscreen for your eyes, the antioxidants in pumpkins shield you from harmful high-energy light wavelengths. In particular, lutein and zeaxanthin are to thank for protecting you from eye damage!Decreases Risk of Cataracts
Cataracts are the most common cause of vision loss in adults over 40 years old and the biggest cause of blindness around the world. The power of Vitamin C in pumpkin also reduces the risk of cataracts, a leading cause of adult-onset blindness.
See Better In Low Light
The Vitamin A found in pumpkins helps our eyes see better in low light. It works to protect the cornea, the surface of the eye, and it is consumed by the retina in the form of retinal. As if you didn't have enough reasons to love pumpkins already, the fact that they are a superfood for your eyes should put it over the top! This season, do not throw away any pumpkins from your front porch; cook them up, eat them, and your eyes will thank you!