The ketogenetic diet is popular as a weight loss plan, but can keto improve eyesight too? Here we cover if keto is good for you, benefits of keto for preventing vision loss, and how to maximize those benefits.
Some people find giving up their favorite fatty foods, like red meat and rich cheese, unimaginable, even for health benefits. With the ketogenic diet, you may not have to.
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Can keto improve eyesight
The premise of this food regimen is that your diet's fat content should typically reach 70% to 80% while simultaneously avoiding carbohydrates. Aside from being easier to maintain for those who love fat-rich foods, keto has also been shown to have innumerable benefits for weight loss, insulin resistance, and even chronic pain.
However, if you are wondering, can keto improve eyesight, a less cited benefit of the keto diet is that it may enhance eyesight. Keto can sharpen your eyes and prevent vision loss. Here’s how that works—and how you can maximize those benefits.
How the keto diet can prevent vision loss
The keto diet prevents vision loss in two ways. Firstly, its foods boost eye health for overall clearer vision. Bell peppers are an example of one of the immune-boosting foods you’re encouraged to eat while on keto. It’s a rich source of beta-carotene, a pigment that can keep your skin and eyes healthy.
Squash is another ingredient with beta-carotene and vitamin C, which can support overall eye health. For a delicious keto squash recipe, check out this easy chicken breast with delicata squash pan sauce. You’re also suggested to eat the fatty fish salmon, which reduces eye inflammation, boosts tear production (which moistens the eye’s outer layer), and strengthens the eyes
with omega-3 acid. Other items in the keto diet that have similar effects are oat milk, leafy greens, and avocados.
Keto is also particularly good at preventing eye diseases like glaucoma and macular degeneration. Glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness worldwide. It occurs when the ganglion cells in your retina deteriorate, and the optic nerve is damaged, increasing your eye pressure.
Macular degeneration, on the other hand, happens when a part of your retina called the macula gets damaged. As a result, your central vision blurs. The keto diet increases your body’s ketones, producing BDNF that can protect your eye health even if you experience harm to the optic nerve.
Keto also stabilizes blood sugar by eliminating unnecessary sugars from your food intake, which is known to improve macular degeneration. In addition, it prevents diabetic retinopathy as well as metabolic syndrome.
How to maximize the keto diet’s vision benefits
A keto diet might keep your eyes healthy and protect you from vision loss, but it’s best to consider it part of an overall strategy to prevent vision loss. That means you should also take extra steps to supplement keto’s benefits. Here are two suggestions:
Protect your eyes from the sun
While keto strengthens your eye’s cells against illness, you should take additional safety measures from known eye threats. The sun, for instance, constantly emits UV rays that can spur diseases like macular degeneration.
That's why it's essential to wear sunglasses for sun protection, ideally, those made with quality lenses that have a high UV protection rating. These don't need to be expensive: when browsing online, it'll be easier to procure sun protection within your budget. OPSM filters sunglasses by price point, fit, and material, so you can purchase a pair suited to your lifestyle more easily.
Depending on your needs, you can also get discounts on lens extras, meaning you can easily apply lens technologies—such as polarization and blue light blockers—to your sunglasses.
Take eye vitamins
Keto supplies you with the nutrients to prevent the development of glaucoma.
However, if the disease had been developing before you started your diet, keto can’t wholly halt its progress. You’ll need to take vitamins like Vitamin B3, which research has shown lowers eye pressure and invokes significant improvements for glaucoma patients. If you're worried about the long-term costs of taking supplements, know you can get them for discounted prices online at Chemist Warehouse.
Conclusion
The keto diet improves your eyesight and protects it from eye illnesses. Ensure that you optimize these eye benefits by taking further protections, and always consult with a health care professional before starting any dietary programs.
Keto recipes to try!
I hope you enjoy this article if Keto can improve eyesight. Follow along with me on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter for a feature and more recipe inspiration! And don't forget to rate the recipe in the recipe area and leave a comment below!
References:
Field, Rowena J, et al. Experience of Participants with Chronic Pain in a Pilot
Randomized …, Pain Management, 11 Nov. 2021,
www.futuremedicine.com/doi/abs/10.2217/pmt-2021-0084.
Tribble, James R., et al. “Targeting Diet and Exercise for Neuroprotection and
Neurorecovery in Glaucoma.” MDPI, Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 1
Feb. 2021, www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/10/2/295.
“Vitamin B3 Shows Promise for Glaucoma Patients in World-First Clinical
Trial.” CERA, 6 Oct. 2020, www.cera.org.au/vitamin-b3-shows-promise-for-
glaucoma-patients-in-world-first-clinical-trial/.
Author Bio: Lillian Fregoso is a freelance writer and researcher with a deep interest in food and nutrition. When she is not busy doing legwork for her next piece, Lillian enjoys experimenting with recipes at home for her family and two dogs.
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