Fruits, Vegetables, and Vision
Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables also keeps your eyes in good shape.
You may have learned that the vitamin A in carrots aids night vision. Other fruits and vegetables help prevent two common aging-related eye diseases - cataract and macular degeneration - which afflict millions of Americans over age sixty-five. Cataract is the gradual clouding of the eye's lens, a disk of protein that focuses light on the light-sensitive retina. Macular degeneration is caused by cumulative damage to the macula, the center of the retina. It starts as a blurred spot in the center of what you see. As the degeneration spreads, vision shrinks.
Free radicals generated by sunlight, cigarette smoke, air pollution, infection, and metabolism cause much of this damage. Dark green leafy vegetables contain two pigments, lutein and zeaxanthin, that accumulate in the eye. These two appear to be able to snuff out free radicals before they can harm the eye's sensitive tissues.(12)
In general, a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains appears to reduce the chances of developing cataract or macular degeneration
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Research is proving that macular degeneration can be very responsive to nutritional supplementation. A large research study from Harvard showed that even supplementing with 6 mg of lutein per day could reduce your likelihood of getting macular degeneration by 57% (Seddon, J.M., U.A. Ajani, et al. (1994). “Dietary carotenoid, vitamins A, C, E, and advanced age-related macular degeneration. Eye Disease Case-Control Study Group Jama 272(18):1413-20). That same study showed that the specific carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin, which are primarily obtained from dark green leafy vegetables, were most strongly associated with a reduced risk for AMD. Individuals consuming the highest levels of carotenoids had a statistically significant 43% lower risk for AMD.
So there certainly are preventative measures you can take. Additional beneficial nutrients include omega-3 fatty acids, taurine, vitamins A and E, selenium, zinc copper, beta-carotene, gingko biloba.
For those with macular degeneration, research has shown that this is a condition that can be very responsive to specific nutritional supplementation (lutein, zeaxanthin, taurine, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins A and E, selenium, beta-cartoene, zinc and copper to name a few), diet and lifestyle. Also, microcurrent stimulation done daily at home along with specific supplementation can be very effective in helping protect against vision loss. The last research study done by a Dr. Ed Paul showed that 73% of the people who did microcurrent stimulation daily along with specific supplementation showed improved vision up to 2-3 lines on the eye chart. As a result of this study, there are now 4 double blind FDA approved studies starting (including one at New York Eye & Ear Infirmiary) studying the benefits of the microcurrent stimulation for macular degeneration along with some other retinal dystrophies. For more information and related research studies, you can go to http://www.naturaleyecare.com/diseases.asp?d_num=8 -- you can also read the specific research studies on microcurrent stimulation and macular degeneration at http://www.naturaleyecare.com/store/detail.aspx?ID=1545
For questions and answers, you can also go to our blog on natural eye care at http://www.bulletinboards.com/message.cfm?comcode=nec2
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