Healthy Lifestyle

For over a year now, My Sight Nottinghamshire has put huge focus upon healthy eating and healthy living – ‘with a healthy lifestyle becomes a healthy stronger you!!’ With obesity on the rise and becoming a national concern, it is important that we try and eat healthy and get active in order to create a healthier lifestyle.

Eating Habits

Eating fruit and vegetables is important for us all . . . but do YOU get your five a day? 5 a day provide the essential nutrients and vitamins that the body needs to function and reduces the risk of illness so it is important you try and get your 5 a day.

Achieve The Recommended 30 Minutes Of Exercise A Day

Any movement can count towards the recommended 30 minutes a day, whether that be jumping, skipping, dancing, or walking the dogs . . . it all adds up and it will make a big difference to your life! Doing 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise, five times a week can half your risk of contracting heart disease, you will start to maintain a more positive attitude to life and have more energy. Moderate intensity activity means that you should feel warm and slightly out of breath afterwards. By doing this amount of exercise, you’ll help keep your heart, lungs and bones in good working order. It is important to realise however that you don’t have to do your 30 minutes all one go; it can be done in short 10 minute bursts.

Link To Eye Conditions

Changes in diet can do wonders for your health and in particular your eyes.

Carrots – contain beta- ogrotene, covered in vitamin A vital to eye function

Spinach and dark green leafy vegetables – people with higher intakes of carotendois have 60 percent lower risk of developing macular degeneration, prevents free radical damage.

Berries and cherries – provide powerful antioxidants that help prevent macular degeration, also contain bioflavonoid that can strengthen small blood vessels that supply your eyes with oxygen and nutrients.

Omega 3 - found in fish , decreases eye pressure by 13% found in fish

Smoking & Eye Conditions

Stopping Smoking Reduces the Risk of Macular Degeneration

Losing your eyesight is something we all fear. Later in life, blindness is often caused by a disease at the back of the eye, called ‘age-related macular degeneration’ (AMD). By 80 years of age, one in twenty non-smokers may suffer from this condition and might become blind. However, this risk increases to one in eight for smokers. Smokers get AMD at a much younger age than people who don’t smoke.

Giving up cigarettes can reduce the risk of cataracts

Smokers are much more at risk from cataracts. Over half of people aged over 60, and some even younger, can get cataracts – a clouding of the lens inside the eye. Cataracts can often affect both eyes. At first, this does not cause much trouble, but in time the result in poor vision. Untreated cataracts may cause blindness. Surgery is often needed.

Smokers are also more likely to get other eye problems such as raised eye pressure and thyroid eye disease. These are further causes of blindness.

What can I do?

Fortunately, giving up smoking quickly reduces the risk of losing your sight. So, giving up smoking improves your chances of living a long life with good vision.

Healthy Recipes For You To Try

Tomato & Spinach soup

Preparation time: less than 30 mins Cooking time: less than 10 mins

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
2 spring onions, sliced
1 beef tomato, chopped
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
3-4 drops Tabasco sauce
125ml/4fl oz white wine
1 handful spinach leaves
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil leaves
2 tbsp Greek-style yoghurt

Ready in 2 simple steps

Heat the oil in a pan and gently fry the spring onions for 2-3 minutes, then add all of the remaining ingredients except the yoghurt. Cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 6-7 minutes.

Stir in the yoghurt and liquidise with a stick blender until smooth. Spoon into a serving bowl and garnish with a grating of nutmeg.

Potato salad

Less than 30 mins preparation time, cooking time; less than 10 minutes. Serves 1