"Refined food" has made Guangzhou people particular about their cuisine, but in a sense, it is incorrect. Ling Shiqi said that the more processed the food, the more severe the loss of nutrients (especially trace elements). This can passively lead to picky eating and eventually result in an imbalance in nutrient intake, manifesting as insufficient intake of inorganic salts and vitamins.
Scientists have found that adolescents with myopia are generally deficient in trace nutrients such as chromium, calcium, and vitamin B1. These substances are good friends for vision.
Chromium
Chromium helps maintain the osmotic pressure balance of the eye's lens. If chromium intake is insufficient, the osmotic pressure of the lens becomes difficult to balance, causing the lens to bulge and protrude, which increases the refractive power of the eyeball and leads to myopia. Overly processed refined rice and flour can lose up to 80% of their chromium. A long-term diet of only refined foods in children can lead to chromium deficiency in the body. Chromium is mainly found in coarse grains, brown sugar, beef, yeast, and other foods.
Brown Sugar Germ-Free Chiffon Cake
Calcium
Calcium can relieve eye tension and prevent myopia. The vision of adolescents is often in a state of visual fatigue, so calcium deficiency can easily lead to myopia. Among common foods, dried shrimp has a high calcium content, and soybeans, milk, crispy fish, tofu, and rapeseed are also rich in calcium.
Zinc
Zinc can improve the vision of myopia patients. Many metabolic enzymes in the eye are related to zinc. Once deficient in zinc, the eyes may experience reduced aqueous humor and decreased antioxidant capacity in eye tissues, and in severe cases, it can lead to retinopathy and optic atrophy. Zinc is abundant in animal foods, lean meat, and animal organs are good sources of zinc, and Chinese cabbage is also a very good source.
Selenium
Selenium is extremely important for the visual organs. Retinal cells, the iris, and the lens are all rich in selenium. Survey data confirms that for children with poor vision, after one year of treatment with selenium supplementation, the rate of visual improvement can reach 85%. It turns out that selenium can prevent free radical damage to the retina and protect vision.
Sea cucumber is one of the foods with the highest selenium content. Seafood, animal organs, lean meat, grains, dairy products, mushrooms, garlic, etc., also have high selenium content.
Vitamins
Insufficient intake of lutein leads to vision degeneration. Lutein belongs to the carotenoid family and is abundant in fresh green leafy vegetables and citrus fruits. Lutein has an important protective effect on the macula of the retina (the macula is an important part of the human eye for seeing things, equivalent to the film of a camera; if the film is damaged, it cannot sense light and cannot form a clear image. Macular degeneration leads to decreased vision, and eventually, vision loss).
Vitamin B1 is one of the nutritional sources for the optic nerve. Insufficient vitamin B1 will affect the normal function of the cornea and refractive muscles of the eye, leading to decreased vision. Vitamin B1 is more abundant in coarse grains, miscellaneous grains, bean products, animal organs, and lean meat.