-IBIS-1.7.0-
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eyes/ears/nose/throat
visual disturbances
Nutrition

dietary guidelines

therapeutic foods:

• foods rich in Vitamin A, B-complex

• blueberries, blueberry jam, burdock root, carrot, black beans, cod liver oil, huckleberries, endive

wine and macular degeneration: In a study of 3072 individuals participating in a nutrition survey, there was an inverse association between wine consumption and the prevalence of macular degeneration. Consumption of wine was associated with a 19% reduction in risk.

(Obisesan TO, et al. J Am Geriatr Soc 1998 Jan;46(1):1-7.)

therapeutic foods:

» Liver Yang Rising or Liver Fire:

• foods that cool, clear Heat, Descending foods, soothe the Liver

therapeutic foods:

» Xue Xu (Blood Deficiency):

• foods that nourish Xue (Blood), soothe the Liver, tonify the Kidney

fresh juices:

• carrot (Walker, p. 53)

• carrot, celery, parsley and endive (Walker, p. 53)

specific remedies:

• Itchy eyes due to contacts: take Vitamin B6

• Tired vision due to overuse and strain: blueberries, fresh or in jam or extract

• Blurred vision: take 15 g fresh longan fruit, 30 g lean meat, 2 slices of fresh ginger and splash of rice wine or sake, Steam and serve per day Alternatively, eat 250 g of fresh longan fruit per day (Yin-fang and Cheng-jun, p. 27)

• Blurred vision, difficulty adjusting to darkness: take 3 g of dried, powdered lemon seed and infuse with boiling water. Drink one cup every evening for 5 days. (Yin-fang and Cheng-jun, p. 64)

supplements

• Vitamin A

• Vitamin B-complex especially B2

• kelp

• Copper

• Zinc

• Calcium (Smith, 1983)

Lutein and macular degeneration: Optical density of macular pigment was demonstrated in two healthy male volunteers who consumed the carotenoid lutein (in the form of lutein esters, equivalent to 30 mg/day of free lutein) for 140 days.

(Landrum JT. et al. Exp Eye Res 1997;65:57-62.)

footnotes

Landrum JT, Bone RA, Joa H, Kilburn MD, Moore LL, Sprague KE. A one year study of the macular pigment: the effect of 140 days of a lutein supplement. Exp Eye Res 1997 Jul;65(1):57-62.

Abstract: A low density of macular pigment may represent a risk factor for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) by permitting greater blue light damage. This study was carried out to determine the effects on macular pigment optical density of dietary supplementation with lutein, one of the pigment constituents. Two subjects consumed lutein esters, equivalent to 30 mg of free lutein per day, for a period of 140 days. Macular pigment optical density was determined by heterochromatic flicker photometry before, during, and after the supplementation period. Serum lutein concentration was also obtained through the analysis of blood samples by high-performance liquid chromatography. Twenty to 40 days after the subjects commenced taking the lutein supplement, their macular pigment optical density began to increase uniformly at an average rate of 1.13+/-0.12 milliabsorbance units/day. During this same period, the serum concentration of lutein increased roughly tenfold, approaching a steady state plateau. The optical density curve eventually leveled off 40 to 50 days after the subjects discontinued the supplement. During the same 40 to 50 days, the serum concentration returned to baseline. Thereafter, little or no decrease in optical density was observed. The mean increases in the macular pigment optical density were 39% and 21% in the eyes of the two subjects respectively. In conclusion, the modest period of supplementation has been estimated to have produced in the subjects a 30 to 40% reduction in blue light reaching the photoreceptors, Bruch's membrane, and the retinal pigment epithelium, the vulnerable tissues affected by AMD.

Obisesan TO, Hirsch R, Kosoko O, Carlson L, Parrott M. Moderate wine consumption is associated with decreased odds of developing age-related macular degeneration in NHANES-1. J Am Geriatr Soc 1998 Jan;46(1):1-7.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To determine the association between alcohol intake and the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD). DESIGN: Case control study. PARTICIPANTS: The sample consisted of 3072 adults 45 to 74 years of age with macular changes indicative of AMD who participated in a nationally representative sample of the first National Health Nutrition and Examination Survey (NHANES-1) between 1971 and 1975: (a) the ophthalmology data set and (b) the medical history questionnaire. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Alcohol intake and the risk of developing AMD were measured. AMD was determined by staff at the National Eye Institute by fundoscopy examination using standardized protocol. RESULTS: Overall, 184 individuals (6%) had AMD. We observed a statistically significant but negative association between AMD and the type of alcohol consumed in a bivariate model (OR 0.86; 95% CI 0.73, 0.99). In the same model, age maintained a consistently strong association with AMD (OR 1.08; 95% CI 1.06-1.11; P < .001). Among the different types of alcohol consumed in NHANES-1 (beer, wine, and liquor), the effect of wine, either alone (OR 0.66; 95% CI 0.55-0.79) or in combination with beer (OR 0.66; 95% CI 0.55-0.79) or liquor (OR 0.74; 95% CI 0.63-0.86), dominated the negative association observed between AMD and alcohol type. Additionally, a statistically significant and negative association between wine and AMD was noted after adjusting for the effect of age, gender, income, history of congestive heart failure, and hypertension (OR 0.81; 95% CI 0.67-0.99). CONCLUSION: Moderate wine consumption is associated with decreased odds of developing AMD. Health promotion and disease prevention activities directed at cardiovascular disease may help reduce the rate of AMD-associated blindness among older people. The nature and pathophysiology of this association warrant further investigation.