Have you noticed that things don’t seem as clear as they used to? Maybe the menu at your favorite restaurant is a bit more out of focus, or the road signs are a bit harder to read on your way to work.

Blurry vision becomes more common with age and digital screen overexposure, but there are steps you can take to reduce its impact beyond just updating your spectacle prescription.

In this article, we explore some of the best vitamins and supplements to help with blurry vision and support eye health.

What Are The Best Eye Vitamins & Supplements for Blurry Vision?

Many vitamin supplements for eye health contain vitamins A, C, and E as well as omega-3 fatty acids. While these are important for vision, they can often be obtained from your everyday diet.

Instead, we’ve pinpointed some of the best eye vitamins and nutrients for blurry vision that are not so readily sourced through diet. Here, we uncover five exceptional vision vitamins and delve into why they are so special.

Bilberry

Bilberry fruits, the European cousins of blueberries, are commonly used to make jams and pies. However, they are also widely recognized for their traditional use in treating eye problems, poor circulation, and blood sugar control in diabetes.

What makes bilberry phenomenal is its high content of anthocyanins, plant pigments with powerful antioxidant properties. These antioxidants are believed to be the key bioactive compounds responsible for the numerous health benefits of bilberry.

Bilberry, with its higher anthocyanin content compared to other types of berries, helps lower blood glucose, reduce inflammation, promote antioxidant defense, and lower oxidative stress.

Here are five key reasons why bilberry is widely considered one of the best sources of nutrients for blurry vision:

1. Reduces Oxidative Stress: The super antioxidants in bilberry reduce oxidative stress on the focusing muscles in your eyes, soothing digital eye strain and significantly enhancing focusing abilities.

2. Improves Tear Production: These antioxidants increase tear production, improving ocular lubrication and lessening the effects of dry eyes on comfort and vision.

3. Enhances Night Vision: Anthocyanins contribute to the regeneration of rhodopsin, a crucial protein in our rod photoreceptor cells, enhancing the retina’s ability to capture light and movement, especially in low light and at night.

4. Supports Glaucoma Management: For those with glaucoma, bilberry enhances blood flow and increases the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the eye and optic nerve, with documented improvements in visual fields.

5. Aids Diabetic Retinopathy: For those with diabetes, bilberry supports vision by helping with blood glucose control, reinforcing fragile blood vessels in the eye, and improving signs of retinopathy.

Oral consumption of standardised bilberry extract for 12 weeks relieves the tonic accommodation of the ciliary muscle caused by video display tasks and near-vision tasks.

Dr Marie Kosehira, Nutrients, 2020

Lutein & Zeaxanthin

Lutein and zeaxanthin are carotenoids, naturally occurring pigments that give fruits and vegetables their vibrant colors. These compounds are two of the best nutrients for your eyes due to the following actions:

1. UV and Blue Light Absorption: They absorb harmful ultraviolet and blue light, shielding the eye and limiting radiation-induced damage to the retina.

2. Targeted Antioxidant Effect: They provide a powerful antioxidant effect at the lens and macula, protecting against free radical oxidative damage.

3. Visual Performance: Found in high concentrations in the lens and macula, lutein and zeaxanthin work best together, playing a crucial role in maintaining visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, photostress recovery, and visual processing speed.

Research confirms that higher intake of these carotenoids reduces glare disability and visual discomfort and may decrease the risk of age-related macular degeneration. Additionally, they help with skin hydration and elasticity, offering the added benefit of glowing skin and less noticeable wrinkles alongside healthier vision.

Macular carotenoid supplementation yielded significant improvement in macular pigment optical density, eye strain, eye fatigue, and all visual performance measures.

Dr James Stringham, Foods, 2017

Saffron

Known as ‘Red Gold’, saffron is one of the most valuable spices due to the labor-intensive methods required to harvest it. Its medicinal properties are legendary, being used to treat various ailments, including menstrual cramps, digestive issues, headaches, and even depression.

Saffron’s healing abilities come from its potent combination of carotenoids, including crocin and crocetin, bioactive antioxidants known as lepticrosalides, and anti-inflammatory properties. These compounds provide valuable support for vision, especially with increasing age.

Here’s how saffron stands out as an exceptional eye health supplement for blurry vision:

1. Glaucoma Management: Saffron assists with eye pressure control, crucial for preventing vision loss in glaucoma.

2. Macular Degeneration: Carotenoids in saffron prevent oxidative stress at the retina and macula, increasing visual function in those with macular degeneration.

3. Diabetic Retinopathy: Saffron strengthens blood vessels in the retina, reducing fluid leakage and improving visual function in diabetic retinopathy.

Saffron supplementation induces macular function improvements from baseline that are extended over a long-term followup.

Dr Marco Piccardi, Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine, 2012

Methylcobalamin (Bioavailable Form of Vitamin B12)

Vitamin B12, especially in its methylcobalamin form, is a vital nutrient for vision and overall health. Methylcobalamin is the biologically active form of vitamin B12, immediately usable by the body.

It supports vision in the following ways:

1. Nerve Function: Promotes nerve function at the cornea, potentially reducing dry eye symptoms and consequently blurry vision.

2. Visual Accommodation: Supports nerves that help the eye muscles switch focus between distant and close-up objects, improving visual accommodation.

3. Reduces Homocysteine Levels: Elevated levels of homocysteine are linked with increased risk of macular degeneration and glaucoma. Methylcobalamin helps reduce these levels.

4. Optic Nerve Protection: Helps protect the optic nerve from glaucoma and encourages nerve regeneration, maintaining visual fields.

Participants who reported supplementary vitamin B12 intake had 47% reduced risk of any incident age-related macular degeneration.

Dr Bamini Gopinath, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2013

Putting All the Pieces Together to See a Clearer Picture

A healthy and balanced diet, such as the Mediterranean diet, remains the cornerstone for obtaining dietary nutrients crucial for vision health, including vitamins A, C, and E, as well as zinc, magnesium, and omega-3 fatty acids.

However, as we get older and our eyes clock in more screen time than ever, just eating right might not be enough. Our eyes require extra help to stay sharp, meaning taking additional sight-specific vitamin supplements alongside a nutritious diet to combat blurry vision.

You can integrate one of bilberry, lutein and zeaxanthin, saffron, or methylcobalamin into your daily supplement regimen. But why stop at one? Personally, I will just go with a supplement that covers all bases, such as Nutravision. To me, it just makes sense to take a supplement that addresses age-related changes, digital screen overexposure and dry eyes in one convenient capsule taken once or twice daily.