Eating vegetables, fruit reduces eye problems: Ophthalmologist

Dr Aliyu Daware, an ophthalmologist, on Thursday said eating more of vegetables and colourful fruits could help in keeping eye good during old age.
Daware told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that green vegetables were rich in the lutein.
Lutein is a nutrient important for the eye.
He said that losing of sight at old age could be avoidable, adding that “some people just believe that as you are getting old such things are bound to happen”.
But Daware said that eating green vegetables was the best way for people to protect their eyesight and stay off vision problems later in life.
“When it comes to the eyes, there’s no getting away from it, you have to take it seriously and those greens vegetables contain a pigment that will protect retinal cells from damage caused by ageing and light.
“You know as we age, we experience a decrease in the strength of the muscles of our eyelids, it becomes weaker,” he said.
The ophthalmologists said that eating well remained the first way to take care of the eyes and help reduce risk for eye disease.
Daware therefore advised Nigerians to be getting their nutrients from natural foods by eating vitamins in the vegetables as against taking tablets.
According to him, vitamin A is naturally found in free leafy vegetables like spinach, kale and also bright colours like carrots and sweet potatoes boosts eye health.
Daware added that fruits like oranges, mango and strawberries provide vitamin C and other antioxidants which also help fight eye disease. (NAN)