Eye health is, of course, one of our primary concerns, and as we mature, vision, acuity, and focus can all deteriorate. This is predominantly due to the cross linking of sugars and proteins in the cornea and other areas of the eye, which happens as a result of exposure to Advanced Glycation End-Products or AGEs.
When AGEs affect eyes, the results can range from annoying – such as becoming progressively long sighted – to devastating – leading to progressive sight loss through distressing conditions such as cataracts and age-related macular degeneration.
Hope on the Horizon
Our eyes can benefit physically, functionally, and cosmetically from a range of easy, inexpensive, and naturally restorative approaches, which we can use to combat and even reverse the potentially devastating effects of deteriorating eyes.
Exercises to combat physical and functional decline
One of the most successful eye health approaches ever created is the Bates Method. In 1920, Dr William H Bates published a book entitled, “Perfect Sight Without Glasses”, in which he teaches various eye exercises that can improve eyesight.
Furthermore, it appears that the Bates Method can also combat degenerative eye conditions. The Bates Association has a superb website featuring exercises, a database of Bates Method teachers, and online games that can improve your vision.
Nutrients and Supplements for Eye Health
A healthy diet that emphasises lots of fresh vegetables is key to any biological age-reversing programme. However, two nutrients, lutein and zeaxanthin, are probably the most important compounds that have a direct action on eye health – although they also have other extremely beneficial effects overall as they are highly anti-oxidant.
Both are compounds called xanthophylls, members of the carotenoid family of compounds, which are found in orange and red plant pigments. (Interestingly, although lutein is considered a yellow pigment, in high concentrations it appears orange-red.)
Another naturally occurring antioxidant, N-acetylcarnosine, when taken in the form of eye drops, has been demonstrated in trials to help alleviate eye strain, corneal ulcers, and glaucoma, and it has also been used to help reduce the occurrence of and slow down the development of senile cataracts.
Rock Around The Clock
One of my favourite eye exercises, Rock around the Clock, should be done every day.
Sit up or stand straight and focus on a point level with your eyes. Imagine that point as the centre of a big clock. The bigger the clock the better!
Look up as high as you can – to the twelve o’clock position – really focus on what you can see and then look back at the clock’s centre.
Next, look as far as you can to the one o’clock position and then back to the clock’s centre and so on – moving around the clock.
Then try it in reverse.
The trick with this exercise is to keep your head completely still, and remember to focus. You may initially notice some aching in your eye muscles – but do persevere as this is an exercise that pays off really fast! It will improve your peripheral vision, alleviate computer eye strain, and help refresh tired eyes.
Resources
My Favourite Products and More:
First – an important note: I have decided to include a section on my blog to showcase my favourite products – the ones that I actually use. (I would never, ever recommend something that I hadn’t used myself – or that I didn’t have full confidence in!), and as always everything I recommend is fully researched – so we know it works! By the way – the links below are affiliate links – this means that they may earn a commission – albeit very small – but rest assured that this does not affect the amount you pay at all. I have decided to trial affiliate links as a way of supporting the vast amount of work that I put into my website – the research for my blog posts alone takes literally days! So, if you feel inclined to follow a link, you can do so knowing that you are helping to support my work.
Huge thanks and deep gratitude!
Supplements
Can-C eye drops are one of the latest anti-ageing breakthroughs and contain a special form of Carnosine, called N-acetylcarnosine, a natural antioxidant, that has achieved remarkable results in clinical trials. Dr Babizhayev, whom I met personally at the International Anti-Aging Conference back in 2003 and who headed the Russian research team (Innovative Vision Products – IVP) that developed this ground breaking treatment, has stated that the maximum obtainable results are usually achieved in a 3 to 5 month period, however there are often noticeable benefits within only 1 month. I have many of my clients on these eye drops and the results are impressive!
Time Health Eye Complex 7 This vegan product is amazing! It contains seven powerful ingredients for eyes and vision. Just one capsule a day provides the optimal dose of Lutein, Zeaxanthin and Mesa-zeaxanthin! Recent studies at Waterford Institute of Technology, Ireland, have shown that the optimal response to these nutrients can be achieved when consumed at the levels within the capsules. These macular carotenoids are essential nutrients which have been shown to support healthy eyes and improve symptoms of age-related eye conditions. I use these myself and recommend them to my clients.
Books
The Cataract Cure and ground-breaking therapies for other conditions (2011) – is a free downloaded e-book explaining N-acetylcarnosine is available at can-c.net. It is by a lovely man – Dr Mario Kyriazis, a compassionate leader in this field and a genuinely caring doctor.
The Bates Method – Better Eyesight Without Glasses – is not only the definitive source for the classic Bates Method, it is in itself a remarkable phenomenon. Dr. William H. Bates’s revolutionary and entirely commonsensical theory of self-taught improved eyesight has helped hundreds of thousands of people to triumph over normal defects of vision without the mechanical aid of eyeglasses. If you think that your eyesight could be made better by natural methods, you are right.
After years of experimentation, Dr. Bates came to the conclusion that many people who wore glasses did not need them. He gradually and carefully developed a simple group of exercises for improving the ability of the eyes themselves to see, eliminating the tension caused by poor visual habits that are the major cause of bad eyesight. These exercises are based on the firm belief that it is the natural function of the eyes to see clearly and that anyone, child or adult, can learn to see better without glasses.
Featuring an eye chart for improving your vision at home, The Bates Method for Better Eyesight Without Glasses will give you all the guidance you need for relaxed and improved vision. I read this book many years ago and constantly recommend it – it worked for me – and I see it working for so many of my family members, friends and clients all the time.
Thank you for reading and do please let me have your thoughts and comments below – and let me know topics you’d like me to cover next.
