It is no doubt that a healthy diet promotes a healthy eyesight hence we are constantly advised to always eat healthy and minimize our intake of certain foods and spices. Here in Nigeria, there are several indigenous traditional meals that we can prepare and consume on daily basis to keep our eyes healthy. These meals are classified into various groups which include.
1. Foods Made From Corn
This includes foods such as golden morn, pap (which is also called ‘ogi’ or ‘akamu’). Yellow corn contains carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin and these are essential nutrients needed to keep the eyes healthy by preventing damage to the lens as well as eye conditions such as cataracts.
2. Foods That Contain Palm Oil
Palm oil contains Vitamin A which is essential for maintaining healthy eyesight and preventing visual diseases. This vitamin is also critical to the health of your eyes, so palm oil may help reduce your risk of vision problem. Nigerian foods such as banga soup, banga rice, palm oil stew, and porridge yam are all preparing with sufficient palm oil.
3. Foods Made With Fish
This consists of foods such as fisherman soup, Nigerian fish peppersoup, stew and any other meals prepared with fish. Most types of fish contains Omega 3 fatty acids which keep the eyes healthy and prevent visual conditions such as Age-related Macular degeneration (AMD). Fishes such as sardines, salmon, stockfish, and catfish can be a great food to eat for eye health.
4. Leafy Green Vegetables
Almost all Nigerian staple foods are taken with soups that have lots of green vegetables like Efo riro, Afang, Okazi, bitter leaf, Efirin (scent leaves), water leaf, fluted pumpkin leaves (Ugu), garden egg leaves in them. Green vegetables are very rich in luetin and zeaxanthin which keeps the retina healthy and helps to prevent eye diseases such as cataracts and AMD. It also helps as a blue light protection which reduces your risk.of having eyestrain due to prolonged use of digital devices.
5. Carrots
Carrots are delicious and highly nutritious root vegetables, which are readily available in Nigeria. They are rich in beta-carotene and lutein, which the body uses to produce Vitamin A. Vitamin A helps the eye convert light to a signal sent to the brain, allowing you to see better in low light. Furthermore eating carrots benefits eye health and protects against age-related degenerative eye diseases.
Conclusion
We are therefore encouraged to consistently eat a healthy diet comprising of these foods to keep our eyes at it’s healthiest condition at all times.
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