Best Foods for Eyes & Brain

The food you eat supports your body, your eyes, and your brain.  And some foods, containing phytonutrients, enzymes, and vitamin and vitamin-like nutrients, are especially helpful. A common feature of these foods is that they contain a wealth of antioxidants.

The most powerful way to get these nutrients is through juicing. In the prevention section of our website, we discuss our favorite juicing recipes by eye condition, as well as the benefits of juicing.

Antioxidant-Rich Foods

Antioxidants in our diet and supplemental nutritional support provide ingredients for fighting excess inflammation and oxidative stress. These include:

• • • phytonutrients (such as lycopene,¹ lutein,² and astaxanthin,³),
    • enzymes (such as glutathione⁴), and
    • vitamin and vitamin-like compounds (such as the B vitamins,⁵ A,⁶ C,⁷ and E⁸).

Also essential are omega-3 fatty acids^{9 10} which play a role in protecting your eyes, your brain, the cardiovascular system, and much more.

Click for a more complete discussion and information on plants high in the various nutrients.

Vision Diet

The Vision Diet is a healthy diet for both the eyes and body. It consists mainly of plant-based foods, along with small portions of animal products, such as organic free-range, grass-fed meats for non-vegetarians. This diet, along with exercise, maintenance of proper weight, and stress management, reduces the incidence of a range of health conditions, including chronic diseases, heart disease, diabetes, and the incidence of cancer.

Green, Leafy Vegetables

The largest percentage of the diet, in terms of quantity, should be vegetables and fruits. Eat lots of dark leafy green vegetables and other colorful vegetables and fruits. These are rich in antioxidants, especially lutein and zeaxanthin, which are the colored pigments that your eye needs to function well. These nutrients protect plants that protect them from sun damage and impart the same protection to our eyes, functioning as internal sun filters and potent antioxidants the neutralize free radicals. Even if you don’t like vegetables such as collard greens, kale, and spinach, you can add them to soups, puree them in green drinks, juice them with other fruits and vegetables, or add them to other greens in salads. Many studies report, for example, that the nutrients found in these healthy vegetables lower the risk of developing macular degeneration, as well as other eye conditions, heart disease, brain diseases and even certain cancers.

Phytic Acid

Brazil nuts, brown rice, raw cacao, oats, and pumpkin seeds have higher phytic acid levels. Phosphorus is stored in seeds and grains in the form of phytic acid. In the body, phytic acid binds minerals in the digestive system. It is found mostly in whole grains and beans, but also in seeds and nuts.

Phytic acid slows the absorption of iron, zinc, and less so of calcium. In addition, phytic acid also neutralizes some enzymes needed to properly digest these foods. This is true only within individual meals and not for overall digestion and absorption.¹¹ For those people with imbalanced gut bacteria or those with a nutrient-deficient diet, especially vitamin A and D deficiencies, the phytic acid in grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds can seriously deplete them of essential nutrients, such as calcium, zinc, magnesium, iron, and copper. Phytic acid also inhibits the thyroid in lab animals (decreases TSH)¹² and induces metabolic and hormonal changes.  So, make sure your vitamin A and D levels, as well as minerals, are up to normal.

Soaking Grains, Nuts, and Seeds

In addition to making sure your vitamin A, D, and mineral levels are normal, you can soak whole grains, nuts, and seed to break down phytic acid.

Grains. By soaking whole grains overnight, the enzyme phytase is activated. This begins to break down phytic acid, and releases minerals.¹³

Nuts and seeds. Soaking nuts and seeds in salted water and then lightly dehydrating them breaks down phytic acid improving nutrient bioavailability.¹⁴

Nuts & Seeds

Nuts and seeds provide healthy fats, protein, vitamins, and minerals, including vitamin E, zinc, and essential fatty acids critical for retinal health. For example:

• • • Pecans contain more than 19 vitamins and minerals, and research has shown they may help lower LDL cholesterol and promote healthy arteries.¹⁵
    • Walnuts provide high amounts of anti-inflammatory plant-based omega-3 fats, along with high amounts of copper, manganese, molybdenum, and biotin; they also contain powerful free-radical scavenging antioxidants.¹⁶
    • Pistachios are high in lutein, beta-carotene, and gamma-tocopherol (vitamin E) compared to other nuts. These nutrients are all excellent for eye health.¹⁷
    • Sunflower seeds are rich in vitamins and minerals, including vitamin E, copper, B vitamins, manganese, selenium, phosphorus, and magnesium, which support heart health and the immune system. But you should not consume more than 30 grams (1/4 cup) in a day.¹⁸
    • Pumpkin seeds offer a wide variety of nutrients, including zinc, magnesium, manganese, copper, and protein.¹⁹
    • Almonds contain plenty of vitamin E, magnesium, and protein, and help lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels while promoting weight loss and reducing hunger. It is better not to eat more than 4 to 5 almonds (about an ounce) per day, especially if not pre-soaked.²⁰

We recommend a few nuts or seeds daily, about an ounce. Vary the kind of nut or seed for good balance.

Fermentation

There are many traditional ways to ferment food. You may already be familiar with some of them, such as tofu (fermented bean curd) or sourdough bread. Fermentation means converting some of the starches or sugars in a food to alcohol or organic acids without the presence of oxygen. The process not only preserves food, but in many cases, it makes it more digestible. Here are some examples:

• • • Legumes and grains. Tofu, soy sauce, tempeh, sourdough bread, Rejuvelac (a traditional Eastern European fermented drink made from sprouted wheat berries)
    • Liquids. Kombucha, kefir, vinegar

Although there is little clnical evidence for fermented food value, there are convincing in vitro studies on fermented foods. The studies indicate that consuming fermented foods is warranted, and call for high-quality trials.²¹

Glycemic Index

High glycemic foods make your blood sugar rise quickly.  The larger the number, the greater the impact:²²

• • • 55 or less is good – whole grains, nuts, legumes, fruits, non-starchy vegetables
    • 56-69 is medium – potatoes, white rice, white bread
    • 70 or higher is bad – candy, cookies, cakes, sweet drinks

High glycemic foods are very easy for your body to change into glucose, but they increase the risk of many conditions such as eye diseases,^{23 24} diabetes and related complications,²⁵ heart disease,²⁶ and obesity.²⁷

A low glycemic index food has anti-inflammatory benefits.²⁸  These foods include lentils, cashews, kidney beans, black beans, garbanzo beans (used to make hummus), oranges, apples, almonds, walnuts, peanuts (though these can be inflammatory and should be avoided for anyone with an inflammatory condition), carrots, bran cereals, all leafy-green vegetables, quinoa, millet, wild-caught fish, free-range beef, and eggs.

Learn more about why you should cut down on sugar.

Favorite Products for Overall Eye Health and Brain

Advanced Eye and Vision Support Formula – our whole food, organic, GMO free formula with lutein and zeaxanthin.

Dr. Grossman’s Whole Food Organic Superfood Multi-Vitamin 120 Vcaps -our organic, whole food, GMO free multivitamin

Dr. Grossman’s Whole Food Combo 2-Month Special – includes 2 bottles of the Advanced Eye and Vision Support formula and 2 bottles of Dr. Grossman’s Whole Food Organic Superfood Multivitamin.

Footnotes