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How to improve your eye health if you have diabetes

Sharon Mathukutty • July 15, 2021

What Is Diabetes?

Diabetes is a long-lasting medical condition that occurs when your pancreas is unable to produce enough insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is responsible for converting your blood glucose into energy. Whenever you intake any food, the insulin helps break it down and absorb the glucose into your cells. A lack of insulin means that there will be more glucose left in your bloodstream, so your sugar levels will be unnecessarily high.


This can cause multiple health issues, including eye-related problems. Today we’re analyzing how diabetes can affect your eye health and how you can counter these effects by adding more vitamins and nutrients to your diet.

How Does Diabetes Impact Your Eye Health?

Diabetic Retinopathy

This disease is one of the most severe diabetes-related eye problems since it can cause loss of vision and even blindness if left untreated. It occurs when your high blood sugar levels contribute to the damage to the blood vessels in your retina, causing scarring or clotting within the tissue.

Glaucoma

One of the leading causes of blindness in people over sixty, glaucoma, occurs when there is abnormally high pressure in your eyes, damaging your optic nerves and blood vessels. If you have diabetes, the impact of this disease will be more severe, and you might have vision impairment.

Cataracts

If you’re having difficulty seeing correctly because the lens of your eyes has gotten cloudy, the chances are that you’re suffering from cataracts. While this eye condition can affect anyone, it develops and worsens progressively faster for people who have diabetes.

How Can You Improve Your Eye Health if You Have Diabetes?

While all this may seem daunting to you, you can counter the adverse effects of diabetes on your eye health by tweaking your diet a bit! Here are some of the vitamins and nutrients you need to add to optimize your eye health if you’re diabetic.

Omega-3

These fatty acids are rich in fatty fish such as mackerel, salmon, herring, and sardines. Not only do they help streamline your retinal functions, but they also help prevent dry eye disease and diabetic retinopathy.

Vitamin A

Research has shown that it is highly likely that Vitamin A deficiencies are interlinked with Type 2 diabetes, hence suggesting that an increase in Vitamin A is likely to combat the problems caused by this chronic disease. This vitamin, found in dairy products, liver, fruits, and vegetables, plays a vital role in maintaining the photoreceptors in our eyes.

Magnesium

Magnesium is another essential nutrient that protects your eyes from diseases such as glaucoma. Since you lose magnesium through excessive urination if you have diabetes, you should add more magnesium-rich foods such as nuts and whole grains to your diet.

Conclusion

If you have diabetes and are suffering from any eye-related problems, you can always visit us at Superior Eye Care to seek help from licensed professionals. We have skilled and experienced staff at our clinics in Houston, The Woodlands, and Spring in Texas. So, what are you waiting for? Drop by for your eye examination today!

Doctor's Corner

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