Tag Archives: eye care

Saving your vision.

As we age we are susceptible to the perils of age-related macular degeneration that can lead to loss of vision and potentially, blindness. One in ten people over the age of 65 have some vision loss due to AMD. Some nutrients that can help protect the eye from this condition include a diet low in saturated fats and high in fish. The antioxidant carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin can both prevent and treat AMD. Food containing these substances include carrots, dark leafy greens, eggs, corn, winter squash, pumpkins and sweet potatoes. If you choose to take a supplement make sure it contains 10-15mg of lutein per day

Vitamin C and Zinc are also a good preventives as is Taurine, B vitamins, selenium, acetyl-L-carnitine, coQ10 and vitamin E. Ginko biloba has also been shown to improve vision in patients who have AMD already. Glutathione is a universal antioxidant in the retina that may be helpful in maintaining retinal function. Older adults exhibit lower levels of glutathione so a good supplement to take is MSM, the only form of sulfur that your body can utilize to produce glutathione.

 One of the big preventives is wearing sunglasses that block UV rays. Also get regular check-ups with your eye doctor. For more information on these and other eye conditions read Dr. Michael Geiger’s book Eye Care Naturally available at Amazon.

 

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Are you at risk for macular degeneration?

We need to pay attention to our eyes. It is believed that nearly half of Americans have low macular pigment optical density which is a possible risk fact for age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This condition gradually destroys sharp, central vision and affects reading and watching TV among other things. People over the age of 60 are in the greatest risk group. Dry AMD occurs when the light-sensitive cells in the macula break down. This accounts for about 90 % of the cases. Wet AMD is caused when new blood vessels grow under the retina and then bleed or leak damaging the macula. 90% of all AMD blindness is caused by this type. Prevention includes proper diets rich in lutein and zeaxanthin found readily in spinach and kale. Flavonoid carotenoids found in goji berry, spinach and ginkgo biloba hae good active levels of these phytocompounds. Along with lutein and zeaxanthin, beta-carotene, omega-3s and bilbery extract are among the extracts that have been utilized in supporting vision health. Dr. Michael Geiger has written a good little book called Eye Care Naturally. It is available on amazon.com and gives you good information on combatting not only AMD but cataracts and other eye conditions that we may face as we age.