Foods To Avoid If You Want To Make Your Vision (and Health) Better

The Berne Podcast with Dr. Sam Berne

Keywords
eye health, nutrition, worst foods, vision, cataracts, diabetes, inflammation, antioxidants, omega-3, vitamins
summary
In this podcast episode, Dr. Sam Berne discusses the worst foods for eye health, emphasizing how certain dietary choices can negatively impact vision and contribute to various eye conditions. He outlines ten specific food categories that should be avoided, including sugary foods, refined carbohydrates, trans fats, high sodium foods, processed meats, fried foods, artificial sweeteners, excessive alcohol, red meat, and high sugar breakfast cereals. Dr. Berne concludes with recommendations for a diet that supports eye health, highlighting the importance of omega-3s, vitamins, and colorful vegetables.
takeaways
Sugary foods and drinks are detrimental to eye health.
Refined carbohydrates can increase the risk of cataracts.
Trans fats contribute to inflammation affecting the eyes.
High sodium diets can lead to hypertensive retinopathy.
Processed meats are linked to poor eye health.
Fried foods create oxidative stress and inflammation.
Artificial sweeteners can cause eye inflammation.
Excessive alcohol consumption can lead to dry eye syndrome.
High consumption of red meat is linked to macular degeneration.
A diet rich in omega-3s and vitamins is essential for eye health.
titles
Foods That Harm Your Eyes
Eye Health: What Not to Eat
Sound Bites
“These sugars are a death spiral for our eyes.”
“Refined carbs increase your risk for cataracts.”
“Trans fats contribute to inflammation in the eyes.”
Chapters
00:00
Introduction to Eye Health and Nutrition
01:00
The Worst Foods for Eye Health
08:03
Conclusion and Recommendations for Eye Health

Hey everybody, it’s Dr. Sam. I’d like to welcome you to the podcast today. So I want to talk about the worst foods for your eyes. know, usually we talk about what are the best foods, know, like avocados and goji berries and wild-caught salmon, but I want to talk about the worst foods today. So nutrition for eye health. There’s certain foods that so

negatively affect your eyes, you know, when people come for eye exams and they’ve got like hypertensive, hypertensive retinopathy or diabetic retinopathy or they are developing cataracts and I asked them what they’re eating and you know, I have to scratch my head because well, these are some of the reasons why your eyes are letting you down. you know conditions like macular degeneration cataracts dry eye even general vision.

deterioration. Here are some of the worst foods for your eye health.

Number one, sugary foods and sugary drinks. So when we have things like Diet Coke or Pepsi or we’re eating, you know, things like sweetened coffee, tea, desserts, sugary cereals, candy, pastries, all of these sugars.

really are a death spiral for our eyes. I mean, if you want to really trash your eyesight, then just eat things like candy pastries, sugary cereals, soda, sweetened coffee, tea and desserts and you will get there. Number two, what’s also really bad for your eyes are the refined carbohydrates because these spike your blood sugar levels.

Sam Berne (02:01.853)
And when you eat foods that are say high glycemic index, this increases your risk for things like cataracts. We talk about something called the glycation process. So if you have moderate to high levels of glucose in your blood, those glucose molecules will attach to the protein molecules in the lens. And this is what creates cataracts. Same thing for diabetes. If you’ve got again.

These refined carbohydrates, then you have a higher risk of number one getting inflammation number two getting oxidative stress and number three over time. You are going to have

what we call reactive oxygen species, which contributes to these eye conditions. So what are some examples of refined carbs white bread white rice anything that’s white pasta processed snacks crackers chips again really bad for your eyes. Okay. Number three trans fats and hydrogenated oils. Why is this so bad because trans fats contribute?

to inflammation which can increase the risk of things like blepharitis my bone and gland dysfunction. Those are when the eyelids get inflamed and creates dry eye macular degeneration whether it’s wet or dry again, these unhealthy fats interfere with the absorption of the essential nutrients like omega-3s which are crucial for eye health. So what are some examples fried foods margarine packaged?

baked goods and processed snacks. All right, let’s go to number four high sodium foods. Well diets high in sodium lead to high blood pressure. had a guy yesterday came to my office. He’s got really high blood pressure. I asked him what he’s eating. He says well canned soups processed meats frozen dinners fast food all of these things are going to affect the delicate blood vessels. call them the micro capillaries of the retina.

Sam Berne (04:12.172)
This creates hypertensive retinopathy. Also sodium contributes to fluid retention. So this may cause puffiness or irritation on the outside part of the eyes and could be one of the causes of factors of wet macular degeneration, which is the edema that is accumulating behind the macula. All right, my number five worst foods that you can eat processed meats. Why because again, these are high end.

both saturated fats and sodium and can negatively affect your eye health. Remember high fat diets increase the risk of AMD. Now, this is the bad fats. creates plaque in the blood vessels, which affects the blood flow into the eyes. These would be things like bacon sausage hot dogs deli meats and smoked meats. Now, let’s go to number six fried foods.

Fried foods are rich in the trans fats. I’ve talked about the trans fats before unhealthy oils, which creates oxidative stress and inflammation. Examples would be fried fried chicken, french fries, donuts, onion rings. This also creates a cholesterol buildup in the eye. We see something in the iris called Archesanilus and that can tell us number one that we’re in high cholesterol. Number two, our liver is probably not working well very well. Your gallbladder too.

And you’re not absorbing the good fats and the fat soluble vitamins like vitamin A lutein and zeaxanthin number seven on my list artificial sweeteners and additives certain artificial sweeteners and preservatives contribute to eye inflammation. This can lead to dry eye allergic reactions red eyes. What would be some examples diet sodas? I know a lot of people they just love the diet Cokes.

Those are so negative for you for your vision. So we look at packaged low calorie snacks. That’s another thing that you want to be careful about in terms of having additives artificial sweeteners. Number eight on my list is alcohol again, excessive alcohol consumption dehydrates the body which includes causing dry eye syndrome. It also reduces the absorption absorption.

Sam Berne (06:35.281)
Of essential vitamins like vitamin A, B complex, which are very important for eye health. So chronic alcohol increases the risk of something called optic neuropathy, which damages the optic nerve. We see this in glaucoma as an example. So of course examples would be excessive beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails. Number nine on my list is red meat in excess. Why is it bad? Because red meat provides well red meat.

does provide zinc, is an essential trace mineral for eye health excessive consumption of fatty red meat has been linked to increase conditions like macular degeneration. We need to be very careful of our cholesterol buildup if our liver is not working properly. So this would be things like steak hamburgers and other fatty cuts or beef or pork and number 10 on my list high sugar breakfast cereals these cereals

are not only high and refined sugars, but they also lack essential nutrients. High sugar intake can lead to things like inflammation, the risk of cataracts macular degeneration. What would be some examples sugary breakfast cereals granola bars instant oatmeal. These are added sugars. So my argument is in conclusion is if you want to have optimal eye health you have to avoid these 10 types of foods because what you do need

for healthy eyes Omega 3 vitamins, especially vitamin a bc and e zinc glutathione. Where do you get these leafy green vegetables wild-caught salmon nuts and seeds preferably soaked and dehydrated also the colorful vegetables. love berries and think rainbow diet reduce your intake of sugar processed foods and unhealthy fats.

And that will help you protect your vision. So that’s our show for today. I want to thank you so much for tuning in until next time. Take care.