With the start of November, many people’s attention gets focused on the upcoming holidays. While Halloween kicks off the fall festivities, most look forward to those big gathering holidays like Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Las Posadas, Soyal, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, and Kwanza. With these gatherings come feasts, but what you’re probably not looking for are healthy options to fill your plate. But these “cheat” days can’t be all bad, right?

Season’s Greetings to Unhealthy Food

When it comes to maintaining healthy eyes, WebMD’s first suggestion for keeping your eyes healthy is eating well. This becomes difficult when common holiday dishes often include more than enough butter, gravy, salt, and sweets (chocolate, marshmallows, cinnamon, etc.). On top of all these rich, hearty meals, alcohol is another less-than-healthy tradition for many holiday celebrators. In fact, the day before Thanksgiving is the biggest day for alcohol sales of the year, jumping 130%! Additionally, alcohol sales tend to increase between November and December and fall again in January with this trend continuing most years.

A “Healthy Dose” of Holiday Meals

So, if these unhealthy options are the “norm,” are your eyes doomed during the holiday season? Luckily, this is not the case. Many of the holiday staples still offer some eye health benefits, even if they are swimming in gravy!

Potatoes

Potatoes are common side dishes in many households. They’re easy to make in large serving amounts and very filling. These crowd-pleasers are also packed with nutrients like Vitamins C and B6, folate, potassium, manganese, and magnesium. Potatoes are also great sources of antioxidants.

Stuffing

A Thanksgiving favorite, stuffing is rarely thought of as “healthy.” However, this bread-based dish comes with ample amounts of fiber, vitamins, and minerals and is a great plant-based protein!

Green Beans

Green bean casserole is another holiday classic. While the cream of mushroom soup and fried onion certainly isn’t attributing to the “health” factor, green beans are loaded with nutrients. Look to them as a source for Vitamins A, C, and K, iron, magnesium, potassium, fiber, folate, calcium, and zinc.

Cranberry Sauce

One of the most polarizing of all holiday platters, cranberry sauce is full of antioxidants and other vitamins and minerals, including Vitamins A, B6, C, E, and K, iron, manganese, and selenium.

Ham

A popular dish for many Christmas celebrators, ham is a good source of low-fat protein (compared to lamb or beef). However, it’s also rich in other nutrients like B vitamins, iron, potassium, CoQ10, zinc, and selenium. These nutrients also make ham good for energy production, which could help you avoid that holiday food coma!

Turkey

Thanksgiving wouldn’t be the same without turkey! This poultry option is another good source of low-fat protein and contains B vitamins, magnesium, iron, potassium, zinc, and selenium. Turkey also delivers choline, an essential nutrient for your brain and nervous systems that helps support memory, mood, muscle control, and other functions.

Red Wine

We know what you’re thinking. Red wine is alcohol, and alcohol is bad for you! Well, this is generally true. However, when drank in moderation, red wine has some proven health benefits for the eyes, heart, and brain. Nutrients you can find in red wines include flavonoids, antioxidants, and resveratrol.

Do My Eyes Still Need Additional Support?

It’s great news to hear that your holiday favorites aren’t that bad for you, but do you know what’s missing from the list of nutrients above? The two most important eye health nutrients: zeaxanthin and lutein! Your eyes desperately need these antioxidants, but they’re notoriously difficult to get through food alone, even on the average day. For many, their eye doctors recommend a daily eye vitamin.

The #1 Eye-Doctor Recommended Eye Vitamin

Trusted by eye doctors and professional athletes, EyePromise® eye vitamins are crafted by experts with nutrients proven to support eye and overall health. EyePromise is the only eye health vitamin line that delivers the natural forms of zeaxanthin and lutein that your eyes need to maintain healthy vision. With a wide array of products that are designed to support different eye health concerns, you can find an EyePromise eye vitamin that meets your needs.

You don’t have to stop eating your holiday favs, but EyePromise can help you fill in those nutritional gaps for your eyes. Start your EyePromise regimen today!

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