The Eyes Are the Prize

How to protect them and preserve your vision

- Beth Weinhouse

WE WATCH OUR salt and fat intake to protect our hearts. We exercise and take calcium to protect our bones. We slather on sunscreen to protect our skin. But what can we do to protect our eyes? Turns out, quite a lot. We asked experts what lifestyle steps people should be taking to protect their vision and eye health.

Spring for some quality shades...

"Protecting the eyes from ultraviolet light-sunlight is very important," says Esen Akpek, MD, an ophthalmology professor at Johns Hopkins University. "It's one of the biggest things in our environment to have an impact on the eyes. Ultraviolet light has been shown to have an effect on cataract development and macular degeneration."

To shield your eyes, wear sunglasses certified to block out 99% to 100% of UVA and UVB light. Surprisingly, dark lenses aren't necessarily the most protective. "In fact, if the lenses are dark but not UV-protected, that's worse for your eyes, because when you're looking through dark lenses your pupils dilate, which lets more UV light inside to do damage," says Dr. Akpek.

and some sports glasses