HEALTHY EYES HEALTHY EYES

May is Vision Health Month, reminding us of the importance of eye health and the vital role regular eye tests play. So how can you look after your eyes?

5. Maintain A Healthy Weight

Excess body weight has also been linked to glaucoma. Exercising and eating healthily can help you reduce your Type 2 Diabetes risk and maintainahealthyweight.

6. Protect Your Eyes from UV Light

UV light can damage your eyes just as it can damage your skin and it’s a risk factor for cataracts. Never look at the sun directly and on bright days always wear sunglasses with UV 400or100%UVprotection

1. Lower Alcohol Consumption

Heavy alcohol consumption increases the risk of developing cataracts and early age-related macular degeneration. Both men and women should limit the numberofdrinksyouhaveonasingleoccasion,and theamountofdrinksyouhaveperdayandweekover time.

2. Don’t Smoke

Aside from aging, smoking is the biggest risk factor fordevelopingAMD,andsmokersarefarmorelikely to develop it than non-smokers. Smoking also increasesyourriskofdevelopingcataracts.

3. Eat An Eye-Friendly Diet

Diet plays a highly significant role in eye health. Important foods to include in your diet are orangecolourvegetablesandfruitswithVitaminA,fruitsand veggies rich in Vitamin C, Vitamin E, cold-water fish withomega-3fattyacids,leafygreenvegetablesrich inluteinandzeaxanthin,beansandzinc.

4. Exercise Regularly

Lack of exercise contributes significantly to several eye conditions, particularly amongst the over-60s. Exercisemayreducetheriskofsightlosscausedby narrowing or hardening of the arteries, high blood pressureanddiabetes.

7. Have regular eye tests – even if you think yourthinkyoureyesightandhealtharefine Sight tests are about more than checking if you need glasses. They can detect eye conditions you may be unaware of, catching them at an early stage when treatment may be easier and sight loss potentially avoidable. Sight tests can also detect other health conditions, including highbloodpressureanddiabetes.

Comeand visitus ifyou haveany questions aboutyour eye health.

Abacus Dental Centre

• Serving Mission Since 1978

• Family Dentistry

• Dental Emergencies

• Restorative Dentistry

Dr. Stanley T. Soon

• Implantology www.abacusdentalcentre.ca • 604-826-1227

#106-7343 Hurd Street, Mission, BC V2V 3H7