Eye care10 min
Food for healthy eyes: carrots, greens, amla and a spoon of ghee
No food can reverse a spectacle number, but eyes do need good nutrition. Colourful vegetables, leafy greens, amla, nuts and a little ghee supply the vitamins and antioxidants the eyes rely on, and a few daily habits protect them.
The Ayurvedic view
Ayurveda gives great importance to the eyes (netra) and calls them the seat of alochaka pitta, the fire that allows us to see. Triphala, amla and ghee are its classic eye foods, and the phrase chakshushya — ‘good for the eyes’ — is used for many of them. Modern nutrition agrees on the value of vitamin A, lutein and zeaxanthin from carrots, spinach and other green and orange foods, plus omega-3 fats from walnuts and flaxseed.
Ingredients
- Carrots, pumpkin, papaya, sweet potato
- Spinach, methi, drumstick leaves, amaranth
- One amla (fresh, as murabba or powder) or another vitamin C fruit
- A few walnuts or almonds, 1 teaspoon ghee
How to prepare
- Make a simple carrot–beetroot–amla juice or grate carrots into a salad with lemon and roasted peanuts.
- Cook greens in a little ghee with jeera and garlic.
How to use
- Include one orange or yellow vegetable and one leafy green every day.
- Eat a small handful of nuts and one amla or citrus fruit daily.
- Use a teaspoon of ghee in dal or on rotis, as tolerated.
Helpful habits
- Wear sunglasses in harsh sun and use good light while reading.
- Don't smoke — it's a major risk for cataract and macular degeneration.
- Get an eye check every year or two, and yearly if you have diabetes or high BP.
- Children should play outdoors daily; outdoor time is linked with lower rates of short-sightedness.
Precautions
- Don't put juices, honey, ghee or home-made drops into the eyes; many ‘natural’ eye drops cause infections.
- Keep wearing prescribed glasses — diet does not replace them.
- See an eye doctor urgently for sudden blurred vision, flashes, a curtain over vision, eye pain or redness with reduced sight.
