As a person who has been deep into natural nutrition for many years, and has experienced almost no illness for the last sixteen years, to discover that I had serious vision problems was a shock and a scare to me! 

Thus, I started going to various eye doctors.  Fortunately, one of the eye doctors turned out to be a strong believer in good nutrition, and that gave me real hope of being able to help my eyes without surgery or drugs.

            THIS STARTED A NEW STUDY IN MY NUTRITION EDUCATION!

 Since the beginning of this new part of my nutrition education, I have learned some very exciting things with regard to eye health!  In analyzing my own choices of food and nutritional supplements, I can see that I could have done a better job of caring for my eyes.  The good news for me is that my last trip to the eye doctor did show improvement in my vision.
            If you do not have any vision problems at this time, I urge you to take a good look to be sure you are doing the best you can do for your eyes.  Prevention is so much easier than reversing a problem after it happens to you.  If you do have vision problems, do not be discouraged.  Whether you have glaucoma, cataracts, blurry vision, macular degeneration…provided your problem is not too far advanced, you could get real help through the natural methods available. 

            Here’s some things I found in my research.

1. Nutrition.  This is very, very important.  Research now shows that there are many nutrients that our eyes need.  Lutein, zeaxanthin, bilberry, quercetin, vitamins A,C,E, zinc, eyebright, and omega 3 fatty acids,  to name a few.  
2. Foods that contain nutrients that are good for the eyes include:  spinach, kiwi fruit, grapes, orange juice, zucchini, eggs, salmon, sardines, kale, collard greens, parsley, red pepper, romaine lettuce, garlic, onions, corn, and blueberries. 
3. Those of us with blue eyes or blue-green eyes actually have a higher requirement for lutein and zeaxanthin, than do our brown-eyed friends.  So with your vision supplement (and I do recommend a supplement) and the foods you eat, aim for at least 15 mg. Daily of lutein.
4. Eye Exercises.  These may be beneficial.  The drawback, of course, is like any exercise, you need to keep them up on a regular basis.
5. Vision habits.  I actually took a course in this.  One of the bad habits that is easy to get into, is staring. Remember to blink frequently.  When you are looking at something, and then you look at something else, don’t just move your eyes. Be sure to turn your neck.  It’s relaxing and better for your eyes.  Also, remember to breathe.  Inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth.  Do not squint.
6. Micro Current Stimulation.  There are units available that may be very beneficial.  The drawback I see to this is, like doing eye exercises; you must be disciplined in order to keep it up & do it on a regular basis.
7. Magnet Therapy.  This can help restore the correct pH balance to the retina of the eyes and be very beneficial.  One nice thing about magnet therapy is that this can be done as you are sleeping.
8. Eye Drops.  N-Acetylcarnosine eye drops have been shown to sometimes reverse early-stage cataracts.  There are also homeopathic and hyaluronic acid (HA)eye drops on the market that may be excellent for your eyes.
9. Palming.  This technique enables you to deeply relax and can help sharpen your vision.  Rest your elbows comfortably on a table or desk.  Cover your eyes with your cupped palms.  Breathe deeply as you palm for a few minutes.

Please keep in mind that while all those things listed above, may be helpful, none is a cure-all.  All will take time to be effective, so don’t give up if you don’t see improvement right away.  Make sure also that you are getting adequate sleep at night, and are not under a lot of stress.  In addition, prayer can make a real difference when it comes to healing any disease.  Have faith and believe in God’s healing for your problem.

While this article deals primarily with things you can do to improve your vision, it should be noted that you can also do things to harm your vision.  In fact, when I asked my eye doctor what would have been the cause of my vision problems, since I already had been following a pretty good nutrition program, he blamed it on stress.  In addition, drugs that can harm the retina of the eye include:  Plaqueoil, Chloridine, Fosamax type osteoporosis drugs, and the whole family of NSAIDS.  You also should avoid trans fats, such as are found in margarine, shortening, French fries, fried chicken, doughnuts, cookies, pastries and crackers.  

The same things that our bodies need to provide us with the best of overall health, may be even more important for our eyes.  Follow a good nutrition program for your eyes, combined with one or more things in the list above, and you should experience positive results.