At the 2025 Optometric Management Symposium meeting, Dr. April Jasper, joined by Dr. Nona Kalfayan, discussed the latest research on the role of nutrition in maintaining and improving eye health during their lecture, "Updates in Nutrition and the Eye." Here, Dr. Jasper provides highlights from the lecture: 

Transcript:

Hi everyone from the Optometric Management Symposium!

I’m so excited to have had the chance to talk about nutrition and the eye with Dr. Nona—a good friend of mine who runs a wonderful practice in the South Florida area. She specializes in aesthetics and dry eye disease, but really manages a general optometric practice just like yours and mine.

What I found especially valuable in preparing for this course was understanding how important the foods we eat are — and how to relate that value to our patients. It can be challenging for patients to always eat the right foods, so supplements can play a very important role in supporting their visual performance.

So, what’s important and what did we talk about? Hopefully, you’ll jump back in and read some of the big optometric topics we covered. I think we’re all focusing on carotenoids, omegas, and overall wellness these days—and it was such a fun and insightful discussion!

We had a great time connecting the topic to both clinical practice and practice management. Having the conversation is one thing, but then learning how to implement and even recommend products to patients is another.

I hope you enjoyed the session as much as I did—both preparing for it and talking with Nona to hear her expertise. Keep an eye on Optometric Management magazine, because you’ll be able to read more and follow up as the days go by! OM