How to care for your eyes as you age

As we age, our bodies don’t perform as well as they once did, and vision is no exception. However, early detection and treatment of eye problems and diseases through an eye exam is the best way to protect your eyes and overall health.
To help keep your eyes healthy for years to come, consider the following tips.
• Eat an eye-healthy diet. Fruits and vegetables, especially carrots and dark leafy greens, provide a hefty punch of key vitamins and a key vision protecting-substance called lutein. Find some new recipes to make filling up on these nutritious choices both delicious and fun.
• Maintain a healthy weight. Did you know that by eating healthy portions, exercising regularly and doing your best to maintain a healthy weight, you can reduce your risk of cataracts? Conditions such as obesity and diabetes can lead to vision problems like cataracts.
• Protect eyes from blue light. Most people today spend a lot of time in front of digital screens, such as smartphones, computers and televisions. These devices emit high-energy blue light, which causes digital eye strain that can lead to headaches, blurred vision, dry eyes and even neck pain. Ask your eye doctor about the best options to help reduce eye strain.
• Get an eye exam. A yearly eye exam is one of the easiest and most important ways to reduce your odds of vision loss and protect your eyes. And it can also help you monitor and protect your overall health. Whether or not you wear glasses, be sure to schedule this crucial appointment. A routine eye exam can help detect signs of serious health conditions, like diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure glaucoma and macular degeneration. Because more obvious symptoms of some health conditions don’t always appear until damage has already occurred, routine eye exams are a good way of keeping tabs on what’s happening in your body. With a few key daily and annual habits, you can make eye health the priority it needs to be as you age.