August has been declared National Peach Month, and in celebration, Virginia farmers have harvested more than 1,200 acres and 5,120 tons of peaches. With this abundant harvest, there is no better time to indulge in a sweet, juicy peach, and no shortage of ways to serve them.

Peaches make delicious additions to both sweet and savory dishes including pies, trifles, cobblers, salsas, chutneys and sangria.

You can serve these and more to your family with the knowledge that peaches have many health benefits, chief among which is the preserving your eyesight. Like carrots, peaches are loaded with beta-carotenes, a protein known to help maintain eye health.

How, fortuitous then, that August is also national eye-exam month.

Eye-exams are important because they not only do they allow your doctor to check your vision, but also search for indicators of common eye diseases such as glaucoma, cataracts and others.

So as August progresses, eat your peaches and check your eyes. It’s good for you.