Do I need to take a supplement for my eye health?

Seeing clearly while you’re driving at night may be getting tough. And, more often, you wish the font size were larger on menus and food labels.

As you age, you might need glasses even though you never wore them in the past. You could be wondering if there’s a vitamin or mineral that will improve your eyesight or at least keep your eyes from getting worse.

There’s no single vitamin or mineral that can make your vision better, but there are a variety of vitamins and minerals that affect how healthy your eyes are. If you’re lacking in them, they could make it harder to see.

Vitamins and minerals associated with vision

A healthy diet typically includes all the nutrients you need for healthy eyes. It’s not necessary to take that additional supplement unless your diet is deficient in certain vitamins or minerals.

Having enough of these vitamins can make a difference in your vision:

• Vitamin A
• Vitamin D
• Lutein
• Zeaxanthin
• Fish oil

Vitamin A supports photoreceptors, the cells that allow us to see. The vitamin also is essential for a healthy cornea, the clear front surface of the eye.

Lutein and zeaxanthin are nutrients that can slow progression of an age-related eye disease called macular degeneration, a disease that blurs what you can see directly in front of you.

Vitamin D helps your immune system. It can reduce the risk and severity of macular degeneration and lowers your risk of glaucoma, an eye disease that gradually limits your vision.

Fish oil: Study findings differ on whether taking regular fish oil can help reduce dry eye symptoms.

Foods that support good eye health

These vitamins and minerals are best absorbed from food rather than from a pill:

• Dark, green leafy vegetables, such as kale, spinach and broccoli, as well as squash are the top sources for lutein, zeaxanthin and vitamin A.
• Fruits and veggies provide a lot of vitamin C.
• Salmon and tuna supply omega-3s. It’s recommended that adults eat eight or more ounces of seafood every week.

Keys to good eye health

• A healthy, well-balanced diet
• Regular exercise
• UV protection with sunglasses and hats
• Refraining from smoking
• Eating fish twice a week

Slowing macular degeneration

If you have macular degeneration, you can slow it down with AREDS2, a multivitamin you can buy without a prescription. The supplement includes lutein and zeaxanthin, vitamins C and E, and the minerals zinc and copper.

The supplement won’t delay when you get macular degeneration. But it can pump the brakes on the condition when your retinas are in the intermediate stage of decline from the disease. Taking AREDS2, you’ll have, on average, a 25% lower risk of macular degeneration getting worse.

How much of a difference can supplements make for other eye conditions?

If you’re deficient in vitamin A, a vitamin A supplement can make a significant difference in vision, as well as in the comfort of your eyes. Being deficient in vitamin A isn’t common in the United States, but if you have a liver disorder, you could be deficient.

Supplements for your vision are only necessary if you don’t have a well-balanced diet. If that’s the case, supplements could help at any age.

Is there a supplement that can improve cataracts?

No supplement can help stop or slow cataracts, cloudy areas that form on one or both lenses of your eyes, causing it to be harder to see. They most often occur as a result of aging and UV exposure.

Most diets have all the sufficient nutrients you need for healthy eyes. Before you take any supplements for your eyes, check with your optometrist or ophthalmologist to see if supplements might be helpful, and whether they’re safe to take considering your health as well as the medications you’re already taking.

Vision problems, though often associated with older people, can happen at any age. So annual eye exams with an optometrist, beginning for babies, is important to ensure if you have any eye conditions, they can be treated as early as possible.