Your Waistline and Your Sight Aren’t So Different
With a matter of only a week, the holiday season will officially be upon us once again. Halloween retreats into the near past, Thanksgiving preparations get underway, and then before you know it, it’s Christmastime. We celebrate each year with family and friends, we eat plenty of high-calorie dishes and tons of desserts both at home and perhaps around the office, and we travel to and from family events and holiday parties.
Plenty of studies address the fact that winter and holiday weight gains are seldom, if ever, actually worked off of our waistlines. In many cases, we tend to keep those extra few pounds we’ve gained, starting with an extra helping or two of turkey and stuffing and gravy, and then taking one cookie at a time through New Year’s. And adult obesity that’s compounded by annual holiday weight gain can certainly lead to plenty of problems, not the least of which is diabetes. Here’s where your eyes come in: diabetes is one of the leading causes of blindness, so you can see how the holidays play a part in the health of your eyes.
Staying Healthy and Safe From Thanksgiving to Christmas
Given the indirect influence of poor eating on the long-term health of your eyes, you can see how important a healthy diet is, especially at this time of year. Maintaining a balanced diet that includes plenty of vegetables, and cutting back on the fatty dishes and desserts, should be a top priority.
As part of a healthy holiday diet, you can opt to include things on your Thanksgiving table such as a hearty kale salad. The leafy green comes in several varieties, and makes for a perfect base or addition to a cold salad, or for a warm sidedish that’s great on its own when you steam and season it. Kale is rich in lutein and zeaxanthin (both carotenoids), which are believed to prevent eye damage that comes as a result of exposure to ultraviolet light. And they reduce your chances of getting cataracts (and AMD, or age-related macular degeneration) as well. With all the Vitamin A present in the green, you can’t go wrong.
Consider cutting out the mashed potatoes with all the butter, sour cream, and fat. Instead, double up on the sweet potatoes this year for Thanksgiving. Rich in Vitamin A, potassium, and beta-carotene, among other nutrients, sweet potatoes are an excellent source of nutrition that benefits vision.
When it comes to Christmas dinner, why not change things up and bake a nice piece of salmon instead of a pot roast, or prime rib, or a ham? Salmon and tuna, both cold water fish, are loaded with omega-3 fatty acids, which studies have shown can help to prevent dry eyes from occurring, acting as an anti-inflammatory agent in the body. Other foods that work well during the fall and early winter months include carrot soup, roasted almonds, and warm steamers made from milk.
Other Helpful Tips for Keeping Your Eyes Healthy for the Holidays
Of course, your diet isn’t the only way that your eyes can be affected by behavior during the holidays. When you and the family sit down in front of the television for night after night of holiday movie screening time, make sure to keep appropriate distance from the monitor, in order to minimize eye strain. If you plan on taking long drives to visit relatives who don’t live so close, be sure to bring along eye drops, and keep your eyes lubricated and rested. Avoid driving long distances at night if possible, especially during inclement weather.
Protect young children from the spiky pine needles near the base of your Christmas tree, in order to avoid accidental pokes and potential damage to the eyes. And if you experience serious weather wherever you live, then of course: be wary of falling icicles, too!
[Photo Credit: Resources2]