Our vision is one of those wonderful gifts most of us take for granted. The only time we even have cause to think about our vision as such is when we think about a blind person who has no vision at all, or our own vision begins to fail us. Being aware of the importance of protecting your vision can help you to avoid problems with it in the future.



Your eyes care a part of the body like the skin that you can do things to slow the aging process of using certain precautions that take little time to implement and can make a world of difference later in life.

Uncontrolled or poorly controlled diabetes can damage the small blood vessels of the retina (called retinopathy). The retina is the part of the eye that's sensitive to light and sends messages to your brain about what you see. When the blood vessels of your retina are damaged, fluid can leak from them and cause swelling in your macula. The macula is the part of your eye that gives you sharp, clear vision.

If your retinopathy worsens, your eye begins to form new blood vessels over the surface of the retina. These vessels can break easily. Once broken, they bleed into the middle of your eye. Scar tissue may form, which can cause the retina to break away from the back of the eye. When retinopathy is found early, before it has done major damage, laser treatment can help you keep your vision. If it's not treated, diabetic retinopathy can lead to blindness.

As well as eye tests there are a number of things which can help to keep our eyes healthy. Research is slowly revealing that certain things have an impact on the development of eye diseases in later life. Unfortunately many of the eye diseases that occur in younger people and children are genetic and so are more difficult to guard against. However many of the following suggestions are useful for all ages.

Taking eye vitamins can help our eyes stay healthy for a longer period of time. Vitamins for the eyes can also help prevent many diseases. Although we can obtain all the vitamins and minerals we need by eating certain foods, it is nearly impossible in the fast food controlled times to get a healthy meal with all the vitamins and minerals.

One vitamin that is essential for eye health is lutein. The human body is completely unable to produce enough lutein to sustain the eye so it is necessary for you to get this vitamin elsewhere. It is believed that your body needs at least 6mg of lutein each day for optimum eye health. Since it is difficult to get enough lutein in your diet through eating healthy foods, it is important to take lutein supplement. You can go through the manual in the package or bottle to make sure it contains the essential amount of lutein.

Vitamin C, Vitamin E, beta-Carotene (pro-Vitamin A) and Carotenoids (Lutein & Zeaxanthin) are strong antioxidants i.e. they protect the eye against free radical damage. It seems reasonable to assume that strengthening of the eye defences by increasing the intake of these vitamins would be helpful in preventing the chronic Aging Eye diseases. Recent well designed and controlled studies seem to support this assumption.