The digestive tract is filled with over 100 trillion microorganisms, many of which are needed for gut health — and good health.¹ The gut flora, as they are called, has a similar function to that of other organs in the body.² The intestinal microorganisms are their own environment. This environment aids the body’s immune system and helps keep you healthy.³

The health of the eyes depends upon the health of these gut microorganisms. Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and dry eye disease (DED) are impacted by inflammation in the gut. Continue reading “How Your Gut Health Affects Your Eye Health”

Chronic stress is a common problem in modern living. Work, finances, relationships, and general anxiety are just a few causes. Over time, stress can harm your health. Vision problems and brain diseases can be caused or aggravated by stress. How does stress tie in with free radical damage and antioxidants? What can you do to reduce the effects of stress? Continue reading “Oxidative Stress, Vision and Overall Health”

We have written extensively about how excess exposure to blue light can, over time, negatively affect vision. Not only does it affect our vision and ability to fall asleep, but it can also harm skin health, and neural pathways in the brain are affected in various ways. Continue reading “Blue Light & Your Vision (and more!)”

1 in 10 Adults Get Ocular Rosacea

Ocular rosacea is an inflammation of the white of the eye caused by immune system weakness. It can also affect the cornea and usually develops only in the eyes. It appears in combination with the skin version of rosacea in 20% of facial rosacea patients.

Bird’s Eye View
Ocular rosacea makes the eyes and skin nearby red, itchy, or sore – and it can escalate to harming vision and the cornea.
Risk factors include already having rosacea on other parts of the face, fair skin, light-colored hair and eyes, and age.
Treatment can have side effects; therefore, Natural Eye Care recommends specific lifestyle and food choices to support
Be sure to consult with your doctor, dermatologist, or eye doctor if you have symptoms.

Continue reading “Natural Support for Ocular Rosacea”

In the previous article, we discussed several essential nutrients for the eye and overall health. This follow-up article focuses on several additional important nutrients: astaxanthin, PUFA’s (polyunsaturated fatty acids), and trehalose.

Bird’s Eye View
This article examines several nutrients that are important for the eyes and overall health. The nutrients come in many forms, and all represent building blocks for well-being. They are:

Astaxanthin, Omega-3 & 6 fatty acids, Trehalose

A well-rounded diet is the best source of vitamins and minerals. However, getting all the needed nutrients from food is difficult. Taking supplements is sometimes necessary to promote good health. Curious? Keep reading! Continue reading “Vision Empowerment – Part II”

What Harms Eyesight?

Our eyes are constantly exposed to the external environment with frequent excess exposure to UVA/UVB light. Natural exposure to the sun is exacerbated by blue light exposure from mobile phones, E-readers, handheld gaming electronics, TV, computer monitors, and fluorescent and LED lighting.

In addition to blue/UV light, our long hours on computers and mobile phones cause stress on our visual system. Physical and visual fatigue reduces the free flow of energy and circulation to the eyes, often accompanied by muscle tension in the neck, shoulders, and lower back.

The combination of the above and the effects of a poor diet, lack of essential nutrients, chronic stress, and health conditions such as chronic inflammatory conditions can result in progressive and sometimes irreversible vision loss. Sight loss may include pathologies such as cataracts, ocular atrophy, corneal opacity, age-related macular degeneration, uncorrected refractive error, posterior capsular opacification, uveitis, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, retinal detachment, undetermined disease, and other disorders involving oxidative stress and inflammation. Continue reading “Vision Self-Empowerment in a New Age”

Protection Against Sun Exposure

Summertime is here, and it is great to be outdoors enjoying the wonderful weather. Some daily exposure to sunlight helps build up Vitamin D in the body and is good for eye health, but excessive exposure can lead to skin damage, skin cancer, and even promote eye disease which may include macular degeneration, other retinal disorders, and cataracts. Ongoing exposure to blue light increases the risk of neovascular (wet) macular degeneration, particularly associated with low levels of antioxidants, and especially low levels of vitamin C and zeaxanthin.¹ Another study suggested that extended exposure to sunlight outdoors may be associated with age-related maculopathy.² Continue reading “Add Nutritional Sun Protection to Your Summer”

Here’s a summer bonus!  Vege-burgers with a twist.  Easy to make, just put it all in your food processor.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 c cooked chickpeas (garbanzos) – that’s a 15oz can
• 1/3 c red onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 large garlic clove or 3 small, chopped
• 1 t cumin, coarsely ground
• 3/4 t salt
• 1 t turmeric
• 1 t sumac
• 2 T ground sesame seed (grind in your spice grinder)
• 1/2 c cilantro, chopped (including all but toughest stems)
• juice and zest of one large lemon
• 2 T olive oil
• 2 T orange juice (optional)
• 1/4 c breadcrumbs

Here’s the process Continue reading “Summer Chickpea-Cilantro-Sesame Burgers”

About Micronutrients

Vitamins, minerals, and other special nutrients are known as micronutrients because we only need tiny amounts of each one. However, micronutrients are essential for well-being, healthy development, and disease prevention. The human body needs nearly 30 micronutrients, but it can only produce one: vitamin D. The other micronutrients come only from food. A balanced diet, rich in fresh vegetables and fruits, provides what we need. However, getting the micronutrients from our diet is difficult if we have poor absorption or fill up on empty calories. Supplementation may be necessary to ensure we get all that we need. Continue reading “What are Micronutrients?”

The standard Western diet, with many processed foods, white grains, fats, sugars, preservatives, and flavorings lacks essential nutrients to support the retina. These non-beneficial components aggravate inflammation in the body – an underlying, and sometimes a direct cause of illness, premature aging, and cellular degeneration.

Essential nutrients include a wide range of amino acids, minerals, vitamins, and vitamin-like nutrients. Among them, a star component of good health and good vision, are the omega-3 fatty acids.

Continue reading “All About Omega-3 Fatty Acids”