Boost your eye health this Halloween with homemade pumpkin pie
The visual benefits of fruit and vegetables
We all know that our health depends hugely on diet and the nutrients and vitamins we put into our bodies. But did you know that what you eat can also affect your eye health significantly? Certain foods can reduce your likelihood of developing particular eye conditions, while other nutrients are especially beneficial for certain areas of the eye. Generally, fruits and vegetables contain the most nutrients but fewer than 1 in 7 adults eat the recommend amount of fruit each day.
As Halloween is just around the corner, when could possibly be better to discuss the benefits of pumpkins for our eye health? We’re going to have a look at just how much they boost your eye health and then share our favourite pumpkin pie recipe, making the perfect seasonal treat which you know will also benefit your vision!
What nutrients do pumpkins contain?
Pumpkins are rich in a number of nutrients and vitamins known to benefit the eyes, including:
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin E
- Zinc
- Lutein
- Zeaxanthin
If we look a little deeper into each of these, we can see that the benefits of Vitamin A for your eyesight include protection of the cornea, thereby reducing your risk of eye infections. Vitamin A also helps your vision in low lighting by minimising your risk of developing night blindness. Vitamin A comes from beta carotene, a nutrient which is found in plenty of orange coloured foods including pumpkins, carrots and sweet potatoes.
Vitamin C is great for your overall eye health and has even been found to reduce your risk of developing cataracts and age-related macular degeneration. Vitamin C is found in pumpkins, but it’s well-known that citrus fruits and other fruit and veg like strawberries and bell peppers are also rich in Vitamin C.
Pumpkins also contain Vitamin E which is thought to protect against age-related deterioration to the eyes. It protects the cells in your eyes from damage caused by free radicals, particularly lowering the risk of damage to your central vision caused by age-related macular degeneration.
Zinc is highly-concentrated in your retina and poor night vision and cataracts have been linked to zinc deficiency. Thankfully, pumpkins are a good source of zinc. Taking 40-80 milligrams per day of zinc could slow AMD progression by as much as 25%.
When it comes to nutrients which benefit your eye health, lutein and zeaxanthin are absolutely crucial. They filter out high-energy wavelengths of light from our eyes which would otherwise harm our eyes and vision. Eye conditions which occur as a result of over-exposure to UV light include cataracts and AMD so, again, lutein and zeaxanthin lower your risk of developing these.
Vision boosting pumpkin pie recipe
Now that we know exactly how pumpkins can help our eye health, it’s time to share our favourite recipe for a Halloween classic... pumpkin pie! This recipe is a simple one to follow and makes a delicious autumnal treat full of nutrients.
Ingredients:
Pastry Crust:
- 1.5 cups plain flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup shortening (e.g. Trex or Flora White)
- 3 tablespoons cold water
Filling:
- 1 whole pumpkin to make 2 cups mashed, cooked pumpkin
- 350ml of evaporated milk
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Pinch of black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
Method:
- The first step is to prepare your mashed pumpkin. Cut your pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds and stringy sections. Chop the pumpkin into chunks and weigh out 700g (approximately equivalent to 2 cups when cooked and mashed).
- Add a couple of centimetres of water into a saucepan, add the pumpkin chunks and bring to the boil. Once the pan is boiling, reduce the heat until the pumpkin is soft and mashable (around 30 minutes).
- Drain the pan and allow the pumpkin to cool. Remove the peel and dispose of it, before mashing the pumpkin or using a hand blender until it is smooth.
- Preheat your oven to 200 degrees C.
- To make the pastry, mix the flour and salt in a bowl. Work in the shortening bit by bit with your hands until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Add 3 tablespoons of water (or more if needed) so that the dough sticks together.
- Make the dough into a ball and roll it on out on a floured surface to a thickness of approximately 5mm. Place the dough into a pie dish and trim the edges to remove pastry hanging over the edges. At this stage, you can also crimp the edges down.
- To make the pumpkin filling, mix the cooked pumpkin mixture with the evaporated milk, sugar, eggs, salt, pepper and spices. You can replace the cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg with allspice for a slightly different taste.
- Pour the pumpkin filling into the pie crust and bake for between 40-60 minutes. Check if it has baked properly by inserting a knife – once it comes out clean, the pumpkin mix has cooked.
Recipe adapted from All Recipes and Sally’s Baking Addiction with our own Optimax twist.
Check out some more vision boosting recipes from our blog:
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How can the Platinum Jubilee Lemon Trifle boost your vision?
Try this delicious baked eggs recipe to boost your eye health
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