eating principles:
low sugar, low fat diet of unsaturated fats
calorie percentages: 70% complex carbohydrates, protein 12-15%, fat 15-18%
therapeutic foods:
foods high in sulphur-containing amino acids: garlic, onions, legumes
foods high in carotenoids, Vitamins A and C
chrysanthemum, cilantro, spinach, cloves, water chestnuts, yams, lycium, black beans (Ni, p. 111)
endive (Walker, p. 53)
fresh juices:
carrot (Walker, p. 129)
carrot and spinach (Walker, p. 129)
carrot, beet, and cucumber (Walker, p. 129)
carrot, celery, endive, and parsley (Walker, p. 129)
carrot, celery, parsley and endive (Walker, p. 53)
avoid:
trans-fatty acids, hydrogenated oils (margarine, vegetable shortenings, imitation butter spreads, most commercial peanut butters) oxidized fats (deep fried foods, fast food, ghee, barbequed meats) (Marz)
spices, salt, garlic (Ni, p. 111)
Iron (Marz)
supplements
riboflavin (use < 10 mg) (Shalka, 1981)
Vitamin C (Varma, 1979) 1 g three times daily
Vitamin E 800 IU per day (Varma, 1982)
bioflavonoids 500 mg three times daily
Alpha-lipoic acid: High levels of activity of the enzyme aldose reductase have been associated with diabetic cataracts. Aldose reductase is inhibited by alpha-lipoic acid in rat lenses.
(Ou P, Nourooz-Zadeh, Tritschler HJ, Wolff SP. Free Radic Res 1996; 25: 337-346.)
Dietary supplementation of alpha-lipoic acid has been shown to prevent cataract formation caused by buthionine sulfoximine-induced (BSO) inhibition of glutathione synthesis in newborn rats.
(Maitra I, Serbinova E, Tritschler HJ, Packer L. Free Radic Biol Med 1995; 18: 823-829.)
The protective effects of alpha-lipoic acid against BSO-induced cataracts appear to be stereospecific. Both a racemic mixture and R-alpha-lipoic acid were able to decrease cataract formation, while S-alpha-lipoic acid had no effect. Maitra et al suggest alpha-lipoic acid's protective effect for BSO-induced cataract formation is probably due to its protective effects on lens antioxidants.
(Maitra I, Serbinova E, Tritschler HJ, Packer L. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 1996; 221:422-429.)
L-cysteine
L-glutamine
L-glycine
quercetin 1 g three times daily
Selenium (Whanger, 1975) 200 mcg per day
Zinc picolinate 60 mg per day (Heinitz, 1978)
footnotes
Maitra I, Serbinova E, Tritschler HJ, Packer L. Alpha-lipoic acid prevents buthionine sulfoximine-induced cataract formation in newborn rats. Free Radic Biol Med 1995;18:823-829.
Maitra I, Serbinova E, Tritschler HJ, Packer L. Stereospecific effects of R-lipoic acid on buthionine sulfoximine-induced cataract formation in newborn rats. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 1996;221:422-429.
Ou P, Nourooz-Zadeh J, Tritschler HJ, Wolff SP. Activation of aldose reductase in rat lens and metal-ion chelation by aldose reductase inhibitors and lipoic acid. Free Radic Res 1996;25:337-346.