According to Dr. Joseph Chacko, director of neuro-ophthalmology at UAMS, your mom was right when she told you to eat carrots for your eyes. “I don’t think it is a myth,” he said. “Carrots and other colorful vegetables have lots of vitamin A which helps the retina to function. We want our patients to eat more vegetables in their diet.”
Vitamin A is an essential fat-soluble vitamin. It promotes eyesight and helps us see in the dark. If you do not get enough vitamin A, it can actually lead to night blindness. Vitamin A helps to form a purple pigment known as rhodopsin that is located in the light-sensitive area of the retina. The more vitamin A you intake, the more rhodopsin you produce.
Vitamin A is found naturally in many foods including: liver, carrot, broccoli, sweet potato, kale, spinach, pumpkin, butter and leafy vegetables.
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