Keywords eye health, nutrition, worst foods, vision, cataracts, diabetes, inflammation, antioxidants, omega-3, vitamins summary In this podcast episode, Dr. Sam Berne discusses the worst foods for eye health, emphasizing how certain dietary choices can negatively impact vision and contribute to various eye conditions. He outlines ten specific food categories that should be avoided, including sugary foods, refined carbohydrates, trans fats, high sodium foods, processed meats, fried foods, artificial sweeteners, excessive alcohol, red meat, and high sugar breakfast cereals. Dr. Berne concludes with recommendations for a diet that supports eye health, highlighting the importance of omega-3s, vitamins, and colorful vegetables. takeaways Sugary foods and drinks are detrimental to eye health. Refined carbohydrates can increase the risk of cataracts. Trans fats contribute to inflammation affecting the eyes. High sodium diets can lead to hypertensive retinopathy. Processed meats are linked to poor eye health. Fried foods create oxidative stress and inflammation. Artificial sweeteners can cause eye inflammation. Excessive alcohol consumption can lead to dry eye syndrome. High consumption of red meat is linked to macular degeneration. A diet rich in omega-3s and vitamins is essential for eye health. titles Foods That Harm Your Eyes Eye Health: What Not to Eat Sound Bites "These sugars are a death spiral for our eyes." "Refined carbs increase your risk for cataracts." "Trans fats contribute to inflammation in the eyes." Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Eye Health and Nutrition 01:00 The Worst Foods for Eye Health 08:03 Conclusion and Recommendations for Eye Health   Hey everybody, it's Dr. Sam. I'd like to welcome you to the podcast today. So I want to talk about the worst foods for your eyes. know, usually we talk about what are the best foods, know, like avocados and goji berries and wild-caught salmon, but I want to talk about the worst foods today. So nutrition for eye health. There's certain foods that so negatively affect your eyes, you know, when people come for eye exams and they've got like hypertensive, hypertensive retinopathy or diabetic retinopathy or they are developing cataracts and I asked them what they're eating and you know, I have to scratch my head because well, these are some of the reasons why your eyes are letting you down. you know conditions like macular degeneration cataracts dry eye even general vision. deterioration. Here are some of the worst foods for your eye health. Number one, sugary foods and sugary drinks. So when we have things like Diet Coke or Pepsi or we're eating, you know, things like sweetened coffee, tea, desserts, sugary cereals, candy, pastries, all of these sugars. really are a death spiral for our eyes. I mean, if you want to really trash your eyesight, then just eat things like candy pastries, sugary cereals, soda, sweetened coffee, tea and desserts and you will get there. Number two, what's also really bad for your eyes are the refined carbohydrates because these spike your blood sugar levels. Sam Berne (02:01.853) And when you eat foods that are say high glycemic index, this increases your risk for things like cataracts. We talk about something called the glycation process. So if you have moderate to high levels of glucose in your blood, those glucose molecules will attach to the protein molecules in the lens. And this is what creates cataracts. Same thing for diabetes. If you've got again. These refined carbohydrates, then you have a higher risk of number one getting inflammation number two getting oxidative stress and number three over time.