Keep your eyes healthy

Adopt a healthy lifestyle

Here's where you can make the biggest difference to your eyes. The first thing to know is that smoking doubles your risk of going blind through Age-related Macular Degeneration, which affects central vision and is the leading cause of blindness in the UK. It causes blurriness, light sensitivity, and seeing shapes and objects that aren't there. A diet low in saturated fat and high in fruit, lutein-rich vegetables (leafy greens such as spinach and kale) and eggs, oily fish and nuts, will protect the macula at the centre of the retina from degeneration. Keeping trim will also reduce your risk, as research shows that obesity speeds up the progression of AMD, and you also double your risk of cataracts (clouding of the eyes' lenses) if you're overweight.