You are what you eat. The food that you consume is broken down and used by different parts of your body to maintain internal health. This internal health can be observed externally through your skin, eyes, nails and other parts of your body.
An unbalanced diet hampers healthy, efficient and effective functioning of different systems in a human body. A healthy and balanced diet not only helps different body systems to work properly, but also helps in maintaining strong and healthy skin and eyes.
Not having a healthy diet may result in you having weak and unhealthy eyes. You are then succumbed to wearing glasses or contact lenses in order to have proper vision.
Not only this, an unbalanced diet also causes several skin abnormalities, once such abnormality being severe acne growth. Lack of proper nutrients or an excess of unhealthy ones, both are harmful for the human body and it is important that a balanced and healthy diet is maintained in order to have proper functioning of important organs such as eyes and skin.
Though our skin and eyes have different functions and work differently, they have much in common. Both are sensory organs and are directly exposed to the sun’s ultraviolet rays that can have extremely damaging effects. There are a few common nutrients that help our eyes and skin in staying healthy. You might have been consuming these nutrients already. If not, it will be beneficial if you add them to your food list.
Vitamin A
Retinol, commonly known as Vitamin A, is an integral part of light receptors in our eyes and is extremely important to maintain visual health. Similarly, it also helps our skin retain its moisture. It helps in keeping it smooth and soft and resists early wrinkle formation.
Being a fat soluble nutrient, this vitamin is widely found in dairy products, liver and eggs. As it is already known that excess of anything is not beneficial, it is important that vitamin A is consumed in acceptable amounts. If taken in excess, it can cause complications during pregnancy and may harm your liver gravely.
Astaxanthin
Astaxanthin is a carotenoid, which possesses powerful antioxidant properties that are important for your health. This nutrient is produced by microalgae and is naturally present in marine life that consumes algae. Examples include crustaceans and fish such as shrimps, salmon, crabs, and lobsters.
Having strong antioxidant properties, this nutrient helps in fighting aging, thus wrinkle formation, and reduces DNA damage. Astaxanthin also helps protect eyes from molecular degeneration, blindness and cataracts.
Lutein
Lutein is another carotenoid that plays a part in healthy eyes and skin functionality. Naturally found in foods such as zucchini, broccoli, spinach and egg yolks, this carotenoid protects your eyes and keep them lustrous. Through different studies and researches, it has been found that it also reverses vision loss to some extent.
Other than this, Lutein defends your skin cells from free radicals and protects your skin against damage when it is exposed to light. Having anti inflammatory properties, Lutein helps reducing redness in skin that has been exposed to the sun’s damaging UV rays.
Vitamin C
Found in abundance in fresh fruits and vegetables, this nutrient is extremely beneficial for our eyes, skin and immune system. It is widely used in our bodies to produce supportive tissue, collagen, which gives our skin the property of elasticity. It is also a vital nutrient for healthy eyes. It helps reduce retinal swelling and elevates the level of glutathione, which is an extremely beneficial antioxidant.
Fibre
Found in several fruits and vegetables, fibre has several benefits. When it comes to eyes, fibre helps with under eye puffiness. Improper elimination of waste products from our body and constipation may lead to blocked pores, hence acne formation. You should include fibre in your diet to get rid of oily skin, pimples and acne.
Including these beneficial nutrients in your diet bring lots of benefits to you. A balanced and healthy diet is the key to healthy and proper functioning skin and eyes, or else you would be using lots of skin care products and contact lenses. You can save you money here on Focus Dailies All Day Comfort.
Kristine Foster has been writing health related articles for some time now. She likes sharing different health related tips and information through her work. Kristine Foster can be found on Google+
