MACULAR DEGENERATION AND OPTIMUM NUTRITION

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MACULAR DEGENERATION AND OPTIMUM NUTRITION JoAnn Guest Jun 05, 2005 16:07

PDT

 

Reading about this now may help you be able to read other things later.

 

 

If there ever was a clear example of an ounce of prevention beating a

pound of cure, it would be macular degeneration. " Macula " means " spot, "

which in this case is on the retina. This is where visual images are

focused on the inside of the back of the eye. A lack of antioxidants in

the diet puts the retina at risk, causing premature aging and

deterioration. Therefore, consuming generous amounts of the body's

principle protective antioxidants, namely vitamins C and E, the

carotenes, and small amounts of the mineral, selenium, will help protect

your sight. Start now, for macular degeneration is the number one cause

of vision loss in the elderly.

 

If you have already been diagnosed with the condition, your doctor has

probably told you that there is no medical treatment to rely on. If so,

then there is no reason not to try nutrition. If antioxidants can

prevent macular degeneration, larger amounts of them may help reverse

it.

 

The theory is easy enough to test, and safe enough to trust. There are

no toxic levels whatsoever for Vitamins E and C and carotene. Too much

Vitamin C is indicated by very loose bowels. Excessive carotene, which

is the orange color in carrots, is indicated by orange colored skin. So

if you look like a pumpkin stuck in the outhouse, take less. Ah, but if

you don't, then you can take more.

 

Vitamin E is so safe that premature babies are specifically given it to

prevent oxygen damage to their retinas. These infants require about 200

International Units a day to be effective. That is the adult dose

equivalent of about 7,000 I.U. of Vitamin E daily! Little clinical need

has ever existed in adults for even half of that amount. However, the US

RDA of vitamin E is only 10 - 15 I.U., and that is not enough to stop

macular degeneration in a hamster. Between 600 and 1,200 I.U. daily is

a common therapeutic level for a person. It is only possible to obtain

such amounts by taking a supplement.

 

Selenium increases the effectiveness of Vitamin E in the body. Only a

little selenium is needed, probably between 50 and 200 micrograms daily.

Too much selenium can indeed be toxic, and amounts over 600 mcg daily

must be avoided.

 

Zinc is another important mineral for the retina. Up to 660 milligrams

of zinc a day has been used in some studies, but there is an eventual

risk of copper deficiency and anemia if such a high level were

maintained. Just one-fifth of that amount, about 100 mg per day, may be

enough to slow or stop the process of macular degeneration. The amino

acid chelate form of zinc is very well absorbed and probably good to

look for. That, or eat a lot of mollusks (oysters in particular).

 

Zinc deficiency in America is the rule, not the exception. Most of us

don't even consume the small US RDA of 15 mg per day. Zinc deficiency

is especially prevalent in older persons. The signs of too little zinc

in the diet are, curiously enough, a weak immune system, poor wound

healing, loss of taste and smell, psoriasis-like skin lesions, prostate

problems, rheumatoid arthritis, and senility. Have you visited a

nursing home recently? The idea of zinc supplementation certainly

hasn't.

 

Instead of beta carotene supplements, I would prefer carrot juice. Yes,

it contains a great deal of beta carotene: probably 40,000 I.U. or more

per average glass. But it also contains dozens of other carotenes, not

just the beta form. Freshly made from your own juicer, raw carrot juice

tastes good and provides many other valuable nutrients. All health nuts

drink carrot juice, so you are in good company.

 

Even a single carrot a day reduces a person's risk of macular

degeneration by 40 percent. Evidence suggests that more is indeed

better.

 

We've all known since we were toddlers that " carrots are good for our

eyes. " What's weird is that nearly one in four of us doesn't even eat a

single serving a day of any vegetable. That alone would account for

most of the 10,000,000 cases of macular degeneration in this country.

 

In addition to carrots, really intense consumption of fresh, raw foods

may help much more. I know of a person whose degeneration of the retina

was very severe and sadly she had lost much of her sight. In

desperation, she began a nearly 100% raw food diet. She ate mostly

salads and a jar or two of home-grown sprouts a day. I won't say that

she loved doing it, but she loved the results. Over a period of a year

or so, her ophthalmologist confirmed improvement. Not only was she no

longer losing her sight, she was actually gaining it back. Her recovery

was remarkable and, medically speaking, impossible. A blind man was

once belittled for claiming he got his sight back. The man said, " One

thing I know, that though I was blind, now I see. " (John 9:25, RSV)

That is what matters.

 

Related Reading:

Carper, Jean Food: Your Miracle Medicine, HarperCollins, 1993, pages

438-439.

 

Cheraskin and Ringsdorf, Psychodietetics, Bantam, 1974

 

Hoffer and Walker, Orthomolecular Nutrition, Keats, 1978

 

Copyright C 2005, 2003 and prior years Andrew W. Saul. Taken in part

from the books DOCTOR YOURSELF and FIRE YOUR DOCTOR, available from

Andrew Saul, Number 8 Van Buren Street, Holley, New York 14470.

 

 

 

Andrew Saul, PhD

--

 

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" Wisdom of the Past, Food of the Future "

 

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