BETTER VISION: EXERCISE AND TIPS
Dr. William Horatio Bates had very respectable credentials. In 1881, he graduated from Cornell University and in 1885 from Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons. He published his ideas about vision in a book, The Cure of Imperfect Eyesight by Treatment Without Glasses (Bates Method 1920).

Eye exercises make sense
One of Dr Bates main ideas is that people get used to using glasses as a crutch and, as a result, their eyes get lazy and they gradually need stronger and stronger prescriptions. If the eyes rely on the glasses to focus, it makes sense that the eyes would gradually loose some ability to focus. We have yet to find a study on this but we are still looking.

You know that exercise is good for your muscles. It improves your strength, stamina and circulation. It makes sense to exercise your eyes to promote your vision health. This collection of natural eye exercises will give a workout to your entire visual system. With exerces you can strengthen your eyes naturally.

Free Eye Exercises
A lot of websites offer to sell you instructions for exercising your eyes and exercises to reduce dependence of glasses. We think they should be free so here they are:

Eyesight Strengthening - Focusing
Start with your ability to focus. If you spend a lot of time at the keyboard or in a job where, what you are focusing on, is always at the same distance from your eyes, then you will likely benefit from this exercise.

Start by going outdoors where you can see something a mile away. It doesn't matter what it is or how clearly you can see it. The idea is to flex your focusing muscles by looking at several points at various distances.

1. Pick something that is within three feet of you, and see it as clearly as you can. As soon as you have noticed how clearly you see it, go to the next step.

2. Pick something about 30 feet away (about a couple car lengths), and see it as clearly as you can.

3. Next pick something about a block away (about 500 feet), and see it as clearly as you can.

4. Now pick a point as far away as you can see and focus on it as well as you can. When you see it as well as you can, return to your closest point. Cycle through these four steps at least ten times, twice a day.

If you don't have a good imagination, skip this paragraph. A variation on this exercise works only for those with a good imagination or visualization skills. Imagine an object (cube, ball, triangle, a word, etc.) about two feet in front of you. Focus on this image and watch as it moves away from you. Keep your focus on it and watch as it grows in size only enough for you to keep seeing it clearly, as it moves away a mile or more. Then watch it slowly return to it's original size and position. Watch this happen ten times, all the while, keeping your focus on your chosen object. Do this twice a day.

Eyesight Strengthening - Muscle Check
Here's an easy way to find out if your eye muscles are in good shape. If, at any time, discomfort becomes pain, stop the exercise, look straight ahead, close your eyes and relax.

Holding your head steady, look up to find the edge of your range of vision. It's the darkness that begins where your vision ends. Follow it all the way around, down, and back up to the top. Now look straight ahead, close your eyes and relax a moment.

Any pain you feel while doing this exercise, should be taken as a warning to ease off and take it slower. Put less demand on your muscles until you work up to 10 circles at a time, twice a day or as many times as you feel comfortable doing.

http://www.askdocweb.com/eyeexercises.html

Dietary Recommendations

Reduce or eliminate all types of refined sugars (particularly white sugar, but also fructose, sucrose, fruit juice concentrates, maltose, dextrose, glucose and refined carbohydrates). This includes "natural" drinks that contain a lot of sugar, including all fruit juices. Even milk sugar, lactose, found in all dairy products, can contribute to cataract formation, as it destroys gluthathione and Vitamin C in the lens.

Drink eight glasses of water per day (preferably filtered or purified). This is optimally taken as a four-ounce glass of water every half-hour-to equal 16 four-ounce glasses. Our bloodstream can only handle being diluted by about four ounces at any one time. When you drink more than four ounces at a time, this means more work for the kidneys to filter water that hasn't had a chance to travel through the lymph system and clean body tissues. Adequate water intake helps to maintain the flow of nutrients to the lens and to release wastes and toxins from tissues.

Eat foods high in beta-carotene, Vitamin C and Vitamin E. These substances are called antioxidants, and most of the nutritional components of cataract prevention and reversal are related to boosting antioxidant levels. Antioxidants are one of the most important combatants against free radicals, a major cause of cataract formation. A good diet supplemented with antioxidant vitamins and minerals can help prevent oxidation.

Eat foods high in antioxidants, including garlic, onions, beans, vegetables, celery, seaweed, apples, carrots, tomatoes, turnips and oranges.

Some foods, particularly dairy products, can exacerbate eye problems by causing sinus congestion, which can impair lymph and blood drainage from the area around the eyes. When lymph and blood can't flow in and out of the eyes, nutrients don't reach the eyes, and toxins and metabolic wastes aren't eliminated as efficiently. Try avoiding dairy for a month to see whether you become less congested. Then reintroduce dairy products one at a time to identify your specific problem foods.

* Vitamin C: We have long known that Vitamin C can both prevent and heal cataracts. The normal, healthy lens contains a higher level of Vitamin C than any other body organ except the adrenal glands. When cataracts are forming, however, the Vitamin C level in the lens is very low. Similarly, the Vitamin C level in the aqueous humor, which supplies nutrition to the lens, is also low when cataracts are forming. This reduction in Vitamin C is due to the eye's impaired ability to secrete Vitamin C into the aqueous humor and the body's overall Vitamin C deficiency.

* Bioflavinoids: Bioflavinoids, such as quercetin and rutin, are important antioxidants. They are synergistic with Vitamin C, meaning they need each other to work efficiently. Quercetin seems to be the most effective bioflavinoid in the prevention of cataracts. We recommend 1,000 mg per day.

* Glutathione: Low levels of glutathione are found in almost every person with senile cataracts. Glutathione is considered the most important antioxidant made by the body and is integrally involved in maintaining good vision. Glutathione is composed of three amino acids: cysteine, glycine and glutamic acid. Several nutrients can help increase glutathione levels, including N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC), alpha-lipoic acid, Vitamin C, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B6, selenium and zinc.

* Alpha-lipoic acid: Alpha-lipoic acid has incredible benefits for healthy eye function. Dr. Lester Packer of the University of California at Berkeley has published important research on the ability of this antioxidant to halt complications resulting from blood sugar imbalances and hardening of the lens.

Healthy Tips

* Avoid microwaves. Radiation leakage from microwave ovens are a direct cause of cataracts, so avoid constant peeking into the open door window while you cook. In addition, food proteins exposed to microwaves can become toxic to the lens that is made mostly of protein.

* Wear 100 per cent ultraviolet blocking sunglasses and a hat, since ultraviolet light from the sun can cause damage to the lens of the eye.

* Many synthetic chemicals and pharmaceuticals can cause cataracts. Steroids, for example, taken internally or applied to the skin, are a typical cause of cataracts because they block the normal metabolism of connective tissue of which the lens is composed.

* Cigarette smoking causes about 20 per cent of all cataracts. Men who smoke more than a pack a day increase their risk for cataracts by 205 per cent. For female smokers, the risk of getting cataracts increases 63 per cent. Quitting without supplementing the diet with additional vitamins and minerals doesn't seem to eliminate the increased risk for almost ten years, probably due to smoking having depleted antioxidant levels in the eye.

ORIENTAL MEDICINE APPROACH

Cataracts are seen as a result of a deficiency in the kidney and liver meridians. This causes a reduction of the energy and blood flow to the eyes, which leads to poor eye nutrition, resulting in opacity of the lens. The spleen meridian also plays a role in the nourishment of the eyes and, if dysfunctional, it can cause cataracts.

Chinese Herbal Formulas

(Dendrobium Pill for Night Vision

(Shi Hu Ye Guang Wan) - Extinguishes liver wind and enriches the yin. Brighten the Eyes

(Ming Mu Di Huang Wan) - Nourishes the liver, enriches the kidneys and improves vision.
Preserve Vistas Pill

(Zhu Jing Wan) - Tonifies and nourishes the liver and kidneys, enriches the yin and improves vision.
Lycium Fruit, Chrysanthemum and Rehmannia Pill

(Qi Ju Di Huang Wan) - Tonifies kidney yin, tonifies blood and clears the eyes.

Chinese Acupuncture Points:

Points BL 1, BL 2, GB 1, ST 1, GB 37, LI 4, SP 6, CV 4, ST 36, KI 3, Yu Yao, Qiuhou

http://www.visionworksusa.com/cataract_chapter.htm