Aim To Eat *This Many* Colors A Week For Vibrant Eye Health

What's the secret to vibrant eye health? As an integrative neuro-ophthalmologist, I get this question from patients a lot. And over years of research and practice, I have come to a simple yet profound realization: The key to optimal vision lies in the colors on your plate.

In my book, Beyond Carrots—Best Foods for Eye Health A to Z, I introduce the science behind why colorful foods support eye health.

Here's the gist: Though small in size, your eyes are complex organs with over 40 cell types that need over 30 nutrients to function well. The unique colors of various foods represent the presence of specific vitamins, antioxidants, and phytonutrients that are instrumental to eye health. 

For instance, the deep orange color of pumpkin, sweet potato, and butternut squash indicates the presence of carotenoids such as beta-carotene. Beta-carotene is a precursor to vitamin A, which is essential for maintaining night vision and preventing dry eye. Orange carrots also provide beta-carotene, while other varieties of carrots, such as purple, yellow, and white, provide their own unique eye-supporting nutrients.

Other orange foods, such as orange bell peppers, peaches, and nectarines, and yellow foods, like corn, egg yolk, and yellow bell peppers, get their vibrant colors from specific antioxidant eye nutrients. These orange and yellow pigmented nutrients are the xanthophyll or macular carotenoids, more commonly known as lutein and zeaxanthin.

The macular carotenoids are deposited in the back of the eye and are crucial for maintaining 20/20 vision and fighting off conditions like age-related macular degeneration. Lutein and zeaxanthin also help neutralize harmful wavelengths of ultraviolet (UV) and blue light, thus serving as internal sunglasses and blue blockers. 

Greens, like spinach, kale, arugula, Swiss chard, and collard, mustard, or dandelion greens, are also rich sources of lutein and zeaxanthin. However, instead of being yellow or orange (as most foods rich in macular carotenoids tend to be), these leafy vegetables get their vibrant green colors from chlorophyll pigments. 

So, what does this mean about how to load up your plate? In my book, I introduce the concept of the "rule of 21." Most people eat three meals a day, seven days a week, for a total of 21 meals a week. So I recommend eating a different color with each meal, thus incorporating 21 colors into your diet each week.

This challenge is a fun way to nourish your body while supporting your eye health for years to come. Plus, introducing more colors to your plate can help spark creativity in the kitchen and nudge you to give new ingredients a try.