By OmegaQuant
Oct 15, 2019
Healthy eyes are an easy thing to take for granted—until you encounter a problem. Staying on top of how to best nourish and care for your eyesight is key when it comes to preserving your peepers over time. While key ingredients for eye health include lutein and zeaxanthin (known to protect your eyes from harmful light and reduce your risk of eye diseases), vitamin A (a deficiency can lead to night blindness and dry eyes), vitamin C (protects against cataracts), vitamin E (fights against visual degeneration) and zinc (shown to slow macular degeneration in older adults)—you might be surprised to find omega-3 fatty acids on the list, as well.
Are omega-3s good for eye health? The short answer: a resounding ‘yes’! Known for their cardiovascular, immune, and brain benefits, omega 3s are essential to an individual’s overall wellness, and play an important role when it comes to ocular health.
Omega-3s have been shown to reduce the risk of certain eye diseases, including dry eye and macular degeneration. Plus, they’re proven to be vital to brain and eye development during both pregnancy and infancy. One study published by The National Center for Biotechnology Information found that “improving maternal DHA nutrition decreases the risk of poor infant and child visual and neural development.” In addition, the study confirmed that “maternal fatty acid nutrition is important to DHA transfer to the infant before and after birth, with short and long-term implications for neural function.”
Another study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that infant girls whose mothers received DHA supplements from their fourth month of pregnancy until delivery were less likely to have below-average visual acuity at 2 months of age compared to infant girls whose mothers did not receive the omega-3 supplements.
When it comes to omega-3 and eye health, research has shown that two omega-3 fatty acids—docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and a eicosapentaenoic (EPA)—are important for both visual development and retinal function. Both of these essential fats must come from foods, such as oily fish (the American Heart Association recommends adults eat at least 2 servings each week), or an omega-3 supplement, as the body cannot produce them.
According to the American Optometric Association, DHA is found in the highest concentration in the retina, the part of the eye that responsible for visual recognition, suggesting it has an important function in helping send signals to the brain. It’s also been shown through several studies, like one that showed animals who do not get enough DHA in their diets suffer visual impairment and degradation of the retina. Meanwhile, EPA has been found to be used in the production of DHA in the body.
