Preventing cataracts with these 5 tips

Cataracts are usually seen as an unavoidable issue with ageing. But these tips can help you reduce your risk of developing cataracts and needing replacement lens later in life.

When the normally-clear lenses in your eyes grow cloudy, you've got cataracts. Vision blurs, driving at night can become difficult due to headlight glare and colours grow muted. Cataract surgery can replace clouded lenses with artificial ones, but you may not need it if you take these steps now to prevent cataracts.

Getting plenty of the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin as well as vitamin E — all present in this yummy salad — cut cataract risk by 16 percent in a Harvard School of Public Health study of over 23,000 women. Other studies show that getting plenty of vitamin C is also protective.

• Your body stores lutein and zeaxanthin in high concentrations in the lenses of your eyes, where they seem to work like sunglasses to filter out harmful ultraviolet rays.
• Antioxidants, including C and E, also seem to protect proteins in the lens from damage by free radicals, destructive oxygen molecules.
• Eating just five servings of fruit and vegetables a day plus two servings of nuts is enough to provide your body with plenty of these important nutrients.
• Top sources of lutein and zeaxanthin include dark green vegetables like kale, collard greens, turnip greens, spinach, broccoli and zucchini, as well as eggs and corn.
• For E, turn to almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts and whole grains.
• For C, choose citrus fruits, red peppers and strawberries.

Diabetes raised cataract risk 80 percent in one study of 6,000 people. Experts suspect that high blood sugar damages proteins in the lens of your eye.

• Even high-normal blood sugar and prediabetes increase your odds; in a British study, people with a prediabetic condition called impaired fasting glucose had double the normal risk.
• If you have diabetes, work with your doctor to keep blood sugar under control.

When scientists checked the eyes of nearly 900 Chesapeake Bay fishermen in the United States, they found that those who spent the most time in the sun were three times more likely to have cataracts than those who spent the least.

• Wearing sunglasses plus a brimmed hat reduced the risk by two-thirds. Experts suspect that solar radiation alters proteins in the eye's lens, causing it to cloud.
• Inexpensive sunglasses can be just as good as high-priced types. Just look for a label or tag that says the lenses protect against 99 percent of UVB and 95 percent of UVA rays — or say "UV absorption up to 400 nm" — and you're covered.

Puffing cigarettes doubles your risk for cloudy lenses. Quit, and your risk begins to drop, say Swedish researchers who tracked the health of 34,595 women.

• Light smokers (who smoked six to 10 cigarettes a day) completely erased their added risk 10 years after quitting
• Heavier smokers (over 10 daily cigarettes) who quit needed 20 years to reduce their risk to that of non-smokers.

Oral steroids increase cataract risk.

In one study of 2,446 people taking steroid pills to treat conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lupus and inflammatory bowel disease, those who took 10 milligrams of steroids per day for a year raised their cataract risk 68 percent.

• By 18 months, risk increase rose to 82 percent. At higher doses, inhaled steroids may also raise risk, according to British researchers.
• Steroid creams and steroid eyedrops may also push your odds higher. If you're using steroids long term, make an appointment for an eye exam and ask your opthalmologist how often you need repeat checks.