Nutrition plays a crucial role in maintaining healthy eyes
11:43, 21 Sep 2026Updated 14:14, 21 Sep 2026
Diet is key to eye health(Image: Hiraman via Getty Images)
Food costs are climbing, which means certain healthy items may gradually vanish from shopping baskets, creating potential problems for the nation’s eye health. Experts say what we include in our diets deserves closer examination.
Nutrition has a substantial impact on healthy eyes, yet in a recent survey conducted in the UK by MacuShield, which produces specialist eye supplements , just 25% believed their diet delivers all the nutrients needed to help maintain optimal vision. Additionally, 32% identified fresh fruit and vegetables as the first items they’d reduce during a cost-of-living squeeze, while 33% placed fish and seafood second. These are crucial foods that help protect the eyes.
Optometrist Francesca Marchetti explained: “Try to ensure you’re including a variety of fruit and veg; don’t just always go for the same. Look for colour such as leafy greens, red peppers, berries, and if you can, eat more than five a day. The wider the variety, the more nutrients your eyes will benefit from.”
Five foods to support your eyes that won’t break your budgetFrozen spinach
Spinach provides lutein, one of three macular carotenoids, alongside meso-zeaxanthin and zeaxanthin. These constitute the eye’s macular pigment.
Clinical nutritionist Suzie Sawyer said: “Our bodies cannot make macular carotenoids, so they need to come from the diet or from a specialist dietary eye supplement.
“Lutein is found in vegetables and fruit, in particular dark green vegetables, such as kale, spinach and broccoli. To increase the bioavailability of lutein, lightly boil, steam or microwave vegetables.
“Fat also increases the bioavailability of lutein and zeaxanthin. Try adding a small spoon of butter to cooked veg to boost the intake of these macular carotenoids.”
Tinned sardines
An affordable storecupboard staple, sardines (alongside other oily fish) provide essential omega-3 fatty acids including docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).
Public health nutritionist Dr Emma Derbyshire explained: “DHA can contribute to the maintenance of normal vision. In the UK, the NHS recommends that everyone eats one portion of oily fish (140g) a week and consumes 250 mg of DHA to enjoy the health benefits. However, oily fish intake in adults is only 56g weekly.”
Sardines make the list(Image: a-lesa via Getty Images)
If the taste puts you off oily fish, supplements such as MacuShield Original+ Omega 3, which contains a blend of all three macular carotenoids, plus vitamin B2 and 250mg of DHA in a daily capsule, can be an alternative.
Tinned sweetcorn
Sweetcorn, along with oranges and sweet potatoes, provides zeaxanthin, present in orange and yellow produce. Oranges and additional fruits, including berries and kiwi, also supply vitamin C.
Suzie Sawyer noted: “Vitamin C is a water-soluble antioxidant vitamin which contributes to helping with the protection of cells from oxidative stress. This oxidative stress occurs from free radicals such as sunlight, smoking and pollution. The eyes have a high metabolic rate, so there’s an added need for antioxidants.”
Pack of eggs
This adaptable ingredient provides vitamin B2. “Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) contributes to the maintenance of normal vision. It is involved in metabolic processes important for the normal functioning of eye tissues, including the lens and cornea. Worryingly, the latest NDNS data has found that UK adult dietary intakes of vitamin B2 are not always high enough to meet our nutritional needs,” explained Suzie.
Fortified breakfast cereals, meat, milk, certain green vegetables, cheese and yeast extract likewise supply B2.
Tins of beans
Excellent in curries, stews and salads, beans deliver zinc. Suzie noted: “Zinc is involved in retinal function as it helps contribute to the maintenance of normal vision. Red meat, poultry, and other seafood, nuts, soy foods, milk and other dairy products, whole grains and fortified breakfast cereals can help to maintain levels of zinc.”