THE most important part of the body is vision. As one grows old, there’s a feeling of dryness in the eyes or one might have presbyopia (trouble reading things up close), cataracts, macular degeneration, glaucoma.

A balanced diet with foods from each of the food groups provides the body with nutrients critical to eye health. Selenium, an often overlooked mineral, is one of the many nutrients involved in preserving eyesight. Consuming selenium-rich foods can help delay the onset of eye-related diseases and improve vision.

People who consume high levels of antioxidants have a reduced risk of macular degeneration, a disorder that leads to gradual vision loss. If you have vices like smoking, it increases your risk.

Incorporating selenium in your diet requires a minimum amount since high levels of this can be toxic.

Like other antioxidants, selenium works well with vitamin E as they hunt down free radicals in your body. Free radicals are unstable compounds that cause oxidative damage to cell membranes and DNA, contributing to aging and chronic disease. With enough amount of selenium in your body, it will neutralize free radicals by donating an electron, thus reducing and preventing the damage they can cause.

The primary cause of eye-related diseases such as cataracts and macular degeneration is lipid peroxidation in the eye – it is where the free radicals rob off electrons from lipids within cell membranes, resulting in cellular damage.

To avoid this from happening, eat plenty of nuts, shellfish, oatmeal, brown rice, brewer’s yeast and eggs, all of which are good food sources of this trace mineral.

Vegetables and fruits that contain selenium are barley, mushrooms, oranges, turnips, grapes, carrots, corn and cabbage.

Some meats and fish include tuna, beef, cod, chicken, turkey, and organ meats such as liver and kidneys. Canned light tuna is one of the animal foods richest in selenium, as it provides up to 95 percent of the recommended daily value in each 3-oz. serving. Eggs now sold by Bounty Fresh and seafood, such as lobster, clams, crab and oysters, also contain selenium.

The current selenium recommendations are based on the amount necessary to maximize its antioxidant activity. Adolescents and people ages 15 and older require 55 micrograms per day; pregnant and lactating women need 60 and 70 micrograms respectively. Doses of 200 micrograms per day over a long period of time have been associated with an increased risk of developing diabetes.