Over The Hill Health Matters

« Posted by Pat Franczyk on October 21, 2009 »

That’s right! This post is entirely dedicated to eyes. Okay, the title is a bit corny, or should I say a bit cornea?

No.

I should not.

OcuPhase eye drops,  originally formulated in Europe, dissolve cataracts. This removes the need for traditional surgery in one hundred per cent of newly forming, fledgling cataracts, and in 80 per cent of full-blown cataracts.

That is the phenomenal jist of my last post.

Check out OcuPhase at www.puretango.com

The only fear connected to the use of these eye drops is that they will be banned in North America if the word gets out that there is indeed an extremely viable alternative to eye surgery. Expensive, scary, pocket-lining eye surgery.

Cataract prevention and adequate nutrition.

What constitutes poor nutrition when it comes to providing the body with what it needs to assist in the prevention of cataracts? Numerous sources say that we need certain B vitamins.

It is my understanding that It is always safest to take all the vitamin B complex together in the correct balance, so I will not get into which B that would be. Take them all together so you don’t risk going insane from an imbalance. I have been told this by a number of mainstream health practitioners, as well as not-so-mainstream practitioners, so I go by it. If you have conflicting advice, let me know.

Obviously, it didn’t work for me.

Always check with some form of medical authority that you trust. I am not a doctor. I am simply whittling down the results of my research, both online and off.

The main point that most nutritionists and researchers make, is that since oxidative free radicals are believed to contribute greatly to the formation of cataracts, then we should irradicate the little bastards with the introduction of anti-oxidants to our diet.

“How do you do, diet? I am an anti-oxidant.”

Good for you.

No, really; they are good for you.

What exactly are free radicals anyway? It sounds like they are the Taliban of the human body.

Free radicals are atoms or molecules (groups of atoms) that are highly reactive to other atoms and molecules because they do not have the “right” number of electrons to form a stable essence. They find stability by stealing an electron from another atom or molecule, which is thus rendered unstabilized.

Just like poor drunks at a bar! If you take one guys drink, he’ll lose it until he steals a beer from someone else.  And so on.

Your body is the scene of the resulting bar fight!

This process of taking electrons from healthy, balanced cells is called oxidation because in the human body, the free radical is usually the oxygen molecule.

Evil, unstable oxygen.

Evil glycated proteins. They make fifty times more free radicals than normal proteins. (See my last post).

But just like the bouncer at the bar, or someone buying free rounds, for that matter, anti-oxidants should offset the havoc induced by the presence of the body’s thieving drunken brawlers, those electron-stealing free radical oxygen molecules.

Have I made things clearer? Of course not. I muddied it up with a totally unnecessary bar fight analogy.

We need anti-oxidants in our diet to prevent a myriad of complaints, incuding cataracts and other eye conditions. Free radicals bond to anti-oxidants without causing a bar fight.

There are a lot of food sources and herbal and vitamin supplements that provide anti-oxidants to the body.

The trick is that you have to eat them.

You must cut down on free radical causing foods and contaminants at the same time.

Natural sources of anti-oxidants include turmeric, cranberries, blueberries, pomegranates and the highly touted bilberry. Darkgreen vegetables and brightly coloured fruits and vegetable are also high in anti-oxidants and should be devoured daily.

Bilberry is usually found in a herbal supplement form and has been demonstrated to contribute greatly to overall eye health, including assisting in the treatment of glaucoma and  in slowing the growth of cataracts, which is the subject of today’s post.

I use bilberry. An acquaintance of mine had his glaucoma entirely disappear many years ago, solely through the introduction of bilberry into his diet. It is still in remission. He can’t tell enough people about it. He is always extolling the virtues of the bilberry plant. I know him personally, so I believe him. I’ve seen the results first-hand. His doctor said it was nothing short of a miracle, but John believes that this vision restoration is possible for many. He insists that we all take bilberry supplements, and we do.

Herbal Remedies.com has information on many anti-oxidant supplements. Check them out. The site is extremely user friendly, and everything is very reasonably priced. I recommend them for the quality of their information and products, and their prices. Let me know what you think.

Vitamin C, vitamin A, lutein, and vitamin E are also examples of antioxidants purported to lessen the risk of cataracts.

Stick to a healthy diet of five to nine servings of dark green and colourful fruits and vegetables every day, accompanied daily by three servings of whole grains and your favourite source of Omega-3 fatty acids twice a week.

This is the advice of  Shereen Jegtvig, Certified Nutrition Specialist, and Dr. Brian S. Boxer Wachler, MD.  They contribute to a column found at All About Vision (www.allaboutvision.com). They are joined in agreement with the legions of other nutritionists and medical practitioners who advocate  the reduction in the amount of red meat, sugary, fatty, simple carbohydrate and additive-heavy foodstuffs in our diets — all free radical contributors, and an increase in the consumption of healthy plant life.

Speaking of eyesight and healthy plant life; shall we take at look at relief from glaucoma and the use of medical marijuana cookies?

Yes. I think we shall.

It just so happens that I have a recipe!

For medicinal purposes only, you understand.

No-one else can read this.

You won’t be able to read this either if you have one of my cookies.

Don’t have two.

Ever.

You’ve been warned.

Pat

Yes. I think we shall.

« Filed under Cataracts, Health »