St Valentine’s Day is just around the corner! As we approach the most romantic day of the year, people will be planning special meals and carefully selecting the choicest of ingredients to celebrate together.
We should, however, consider what nutrition the food we consume is providing and what we can do to ensure optimal dietary support for our vision.
As a Belfast boy, who spent a lot of my childhood on the Shankill Road, I can handle our famous Ulster Fry as well as the next, but I realise that we all should make sure we are consuming enough of the specific nutrients to support health and wellbeing.
One of the conditions that is of particular interest to us is age-related macular degeneration (AMD). There are a number of factors that are believed to be linked to AMD: age, smoking, genetics, exposure to sunlight and our diet. One of the factors that we can alter is diet. It is important that our diet includes antioxidants (vitamins A, C and E) and carotenoids (lutein and zeaxanthin) which protect our body from the damaging effects of oxidants. These carotenoids are the pigments that give the colour to certain foods, and along with meso-zeaxanthin (another carotenoid formed in the body from lutein), make up macular pigment. They are important in protecting the macula from free radicals and are believed to absorb the damaging (blue) wavelengths of light. We cannot make lutein and zeaxanthin and therefore they need to be obtained from our diet. Research suggests that we should eat at least 10mg of lutein daily, but the average western daily intake is estimated to be around 3mg of lutein and zeaxanthin.
It is important to consume a variety of foods and to have a balanced diet; the following are foods that contain the highest levels of lutein: red pepper, kale, spinach, lettuce, leek, peas and broccoli. It is also good to remember that health advisors recommend eating at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day.
There are nutritional supplements available, but you should get medical advice before taking supplements or making any significant changes to your diet. Medical advice is especially important if you are on any medications and you shouldn’t take any supplement containing beta carotene (vitamin A) if you smoke or used to smoke.
We are all able to make changes that could have a positive effect on our health and wellbeing, but it takes a little will-power and stick ability. Other benefits would be the exciting fresh and delicious choices of fruit and vegetable yet to explore.
You may just want to check though with your Valentine if they would like Brussels sprouts on the 14th!