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Visionary Eye Care
Melissa
Diane Smith
The ability to
see clearly is something we all take for granted -- until we develop eye problems.
Fortunately, there are plenty of simple ways to improve eye health and protect
the gift of sight.
The
Bottom Line on Eye Health
No matter whether you have a serious eye condition or simply want to take
preventive measures, the same general principles for protecting eye health
apply. Here are some tips:
1.
Avoid
refined foods like white flour and white sugar; this includes white pasta,
white bread, soft drinks and sweets. Continue to remind yourself that eating
nutrient-stripped foods leads to poor eye health.
2.
Eat
an unrefined, antioxidant-rich diet replete with fresh fruits and vegetables,
and emphasize organic foods as much as possible. Also try to include in your
diet omega-3-rich coldwater fish (from offshore sources) several times a week.
3.
Consider
supplementing your diet with antioxidants or an antioxidant-rich multiple. To
determine what supplements might be best for you, discuss your situation with a
nutritionally oriented optometrist or opthamologist,
or a holistic-minded doctor or nutritionist. To find a nutritionally oriented
optometrist in your area, write to the Nutritional Optometry Institute,
4.
Exercise
regularly. Exercise reduces stress and eye pressure and promotes cardiovascular
health. All of these benefits can improve eye health.
5.
Don't
smoke. If you do smoke, utilize all resources available to you to quit.
According to Nutrition and the Eyes by Bill Sardi,
smoking robs the body of nutrients and is a major risk factor for serious eye
diseases: smokers, for example, develop macular degeneration seven years sooner
on average than non-smokers.
6.
Protect
your eyes from harmful ultraviolet radiation by wearing 100-percent UVA- and
UVB-blocking sunglasses. This is especially important when the sun's rays are
the strongest, between
7.
Be
aware that certain medications can significantly increase your risk of
developing eye diseases. According to Alternative Medicine: The Definitive
Guide, antidepressants, steroids and antihypertensives
can cause glaucoma. Other drugs such as antihistamines and tetracycline antiobiotics increase sensitivity to sunlight, thereby
increasing the risk of damage to the eyes. Avoid these drugs whenever possible,
and as a preventive strategy, talk with your optometrist about any medications
you take.
8.
Be
sure to obtain periodic eye examinations by an optometrist to check on eye
function and vision. In between visits to your optometrist, watch for
problematic eye symptoms such as: increased sun glare; road glare from
headlights at night; and increased dryness, redness, itching, burning, or
watering of the eyes. The eye ages just before the rest of the body does, Sardi reports, so eye problems can warn you of impending
health problems if you pay attention to them.
The eyes have been called windows to the
soul but they are also windows to our nutritional status. These sensitive
instruments have higher nutrient requirements than most other body parts and
also are in more direct exposure to the polluted environment in which we live.
That means the eyes often are the first to feel the effects of poor diet and
lifestyle habits. Many experts, in fact, consider the health of our eyes a
barometer of total body health. According to recent statistics, our eye health
is faltering. By adulthood, nearly 60 percent of Americans require vision
correction. Even worse, the National Institutes of Health estimates that 17
million Americans currently suffer from serious vision loss. Degenerative eye
diseases such as macular degeneration are epidemic and increasing in number.
The good news is that virtually all of
the factors that contribute to poor vision are within our ability to control. A
recent study sponsored by the National Eye Institute found that major
contributors to serious eye disorders are dietary deficiencies, genetic
predisposition, smoking, and overexposure to ultraviolet radiation, toxic
chemicals, and pollution. By changing avoidable factors, we can do a lot to
counteract any genetic tendencies toward eye disorders we have.
Optimal Nutrition
Optimal nutrition is critical for
protecting eye health and preventing eye disorders. The first step is to eat a
diet rich in nutrient-dense whole foods. Few people realize it, but an intake
of refined foods such as white flour and white rice is largely responsible for
the development of nearsightedness (myopia), astigmatism and farsightedness (presbyopia), says Glen Swartwout,
O.D., a nutrition-oriented optometrist from Hilo, Hawaii. The most hazardous food
for our eyes is refined sugar: it was found in one study to cause a more than
300-fold increase in the risk of developing eye focus distortion, according to Swartwout.
Eating a diet rich in antioxidants, found
in fruits and vegetables, is equally as important for protecting eye health.
One study reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that
people who consume less than three and a half servings of fruits and vegetables
per day have an increased risk for cataracts. Another study, reported in the
Journal of the American Medical Association, found that people who consume the
highest amount of carotenoids from dark green leafy
vegetables have a 43 percent reduced risk of developing macular degeneration
compared to those who eat the lowest amount. The best dietary strategy to
protect against eye diseases appears to be to eat a wide variety of fruits and
vegetables which supply many different types of antioxidants.
In addition to an antioxidant-rich diet,
an increasing number of eye care professionals recommend the use of antioxidant
supplements. The evidence that antioxidants help prevent and delay the
development of eye disease is overwhelming, but the amounts and varieties of
antioxidants needed are virtually impossible to obtain from foods alone, says
Bill Sardi, a medical journalist who has studied eye
health for more than a decade. Daily amounts of antioxidants generally
suggested to protect eye health include: 20,000 to 40,000 units betacarotene, 500-3000 milligrams vitamin C, 100-400 units
vitamin E, 100-200 micrograms selenium and 15-25 milligrams zinc, Sardi reports. For prevention of eye disease, Sardi suggests taking eye-specific vitamin formulas or
broad-spectrum antioxidant supplements that contain these eye-protective
nutrients.
Treating Eye Diseases
The best treatment for eye diseases, of
course, is to prevent them in the first place. Once eye diseases have begun
though, individuals can dramatically improve their eye function if they make
simple diet and lifestyle changes early on in the disease process, according to
optometrist Swartwout. "(If changes are made)
early on, I actually see improvement in most individuals," he says.
"What prevents (eye disease) also treats it."
As evidence of this statement, Swartwout explains that more than a decade ago he started
counseling individuals with cataracts about preventive measures they could
take. These measures included: eating a healthy diet; exercising; taking a
multiple vitamin/mineral supplement; and avoiding risk factors such as steroid
drugs, smoking, and alcohol use. He then conducted a study to determine the
effectiveness of this approach. The results of his experiment were impressive:
"I found that two out of three people were able to improve the clarity of
the lens and the quality of vision measurably within four weeks (of making
changes)," he says.
Once degenerative eye diseases reach
advanced stages, they are best treated by an opthamologist.
But many conventionally trained opthamologists offer
little hope that anything can be done to improve these conditions. Fortunately,
there are alternatives. August L. Reader, M.D., a holistic-oriented opthamologist who has practices in Los Angeles, Hayward,
and San Francisco, California, says that the use of nutrient and herbal
supplements holds great promise in the treatment of serious eye diseases.
As a general rule, all eye disorders
respond well to supplementation with an antioxidant-rich multivitamin/mineral,
Reader says. Supplements are beneficial because most people with eye disorders
have nutrient deficiencies, and eye health depends on optimal nutrition.
Supplementation with additional
individual nutrients is more effective for some conditions than others. One to
three grams of vitamin C taken daily, for example, may slow the development of
cataracts, according to Reader.
For both glaucoma and macular
degeneration, Reader suggests omega-3 fish oils and ginkgo biloba
extract. Fatty acids in fish oils are important for nerve and photoreceptor
function in the eye and ginkgo biloba is an herb that
improves circulation to the extremities and might delay the progressive type of
nerve damage often present in glaucoma.
Macular degeneration is strongly linked
to nutrient deficiencies so an aggressive supplement program is indicated for
its treatment. In addition to a general multiple, omega-3 fish oils and ginkgo biloba, other supplements Reader uses to treat macular
degeneration include: proanthocyanidins from pine
bark extract, garlic oil capsules with coenzyme Q-10, and a bioflavonoid/carotenoid supplement that contains lutein.
Lutein is extremely important: "Thirty
milligrams taken daily has protective value in slowing the progression of
macular degeneration and may help reverse it in some cases," Reader explains.
Nutrition is vital for the treatment of most eye
problems but it's also the key to preventing them. Factors that promote good
eye health are well within our control to implement: an optimal diet,
supplements, protective sunglasses, practicing good health habits like
exercise, and avoiding unhealthy habits like smoking.
Melissa Diane Smith is a Tucson-based nutritionist who specializes in
sugar- and grain-related health conditions and counsels clients long-distance
around the country by phone. She is the author of User’s Guide to Preventing & Reversing Diabetes Naturally
(Basic Health Publications, 2003), User’s
Guide to Chromium (Basic Health Publications, 2002), Going Against the Grain
(McGraw-Hill/Contemporary Books, 2002) and coauthor of the national bestselling
Syndrome X: The Complete Nutritional
Program to Prevent and Reverse Insulin Resistance (John Wiley &
Sons, 2000).
For more information or to purchase any of
these books, go to www.melissadianesmith.com/Books.html.
For more information on her consultations, visit www.melissadianesmith.com/Consultation.html
or contact Melissa at mds@melissadianesmith.com or
520-577-9255.
The Highest Level is the monthly e-mail newsletter of the
© Humber Parkerson Clinic 2006
July 2006 issue of The
Highest Level
