Exercising

Exercising gets the body moving, and moving your body leads to cardiovascular health. A strong cardiovascular system helps protect your eyesight by enhancing the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the eyes, and by improving the removal of waste products that develop in the eye.

I mentioned in The Visual Process that the highest concentration of oxygen in the body is found in the eyes. By exercising and helping your cardiovascular system do its job, you’ll be giving your eyes all the oxygen they need for disease-free vision.

Oxygen is the fire that burns the fuel provided by nutrients. Without the nutrients your eyes needs, your vision can deteriorate. Exercising will help ensure that your eyes get all the nutrients they need.

And just like a bonfire turns wood into smoke, particles and ash, “burning” nutrients in your eyes leaves behind waste products. If your cardiovascular system can’t remove the waste as it’s produced, your eyes will develop accumulations of these wastes.

Drusen are the waste accumulations that cause dry macular degeneration, so improving your waste removal system will help you avoid or lessen the effects of dry MD.

You don’t need to go to a gym to pump iron every day. Walking, swimming, playing tennis — even gardening — get you moving, your blood circulating, and the nutrients you need to protect your eyesight reaching your eyes.