LOOKING after your EYES

From "Thy Kingdom Come" - The Association  of the Covenant People, Burnaby, B.C. Canada - July 2013 LOOKING  AFTER  YOUR  EYES

by Rick Coupland

Editor's Comment: Whenever I think of Rick Coupland's articles encouraging us to take better care of ourselves, I realize that God makes it so easy for us to live a healthy lifestyle, just by following His Commandments. I read a couple of "good health" anecdotes that I will pass along to those readers who don't receive Pastor Dan Gayman's "The Watchman." (1) "Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die." (2) "Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in the hospital dying of nothing." I read onetime that good health comes from "good diet" - "good breathing" and "good thinking." Sounds easy but it takes discipline. For instance, how many of us will run out and buy and try "pinhole glasses"? I've got mine and I'll let you know next month how it worked.

Our eyes are the window to the world and are undoubtedly our most important sense. Though taken for granted, we would literally be in the dark without them. Just like all of the other workings in our body, the mechanisms of our eyes are a marvel.

Let's begin with a basic overview of how our eyes work.

There are several components of the eye all working together, not unlike that of a camera. When we look at an object, light rays reflect off of it and penetrate our eyes, first coming in contact with the cornea. The cornea serves two purposes: it protects   our  eyes   from  dust, germs, etc., and it also bends the incoming light rays onto the lens. The lens then focuses the light onto the retina at the back of the eye that starts the translation of light into vision. The retina converts the light rays into impulses that are sent through the optic nerve to the brain, which interprets them as images.

As we progress in life, it is a natural occurrence for our eyes to weaken somewhat. If we were to go into a room full of older people, it would not be uncommon to find the majority of them wearing glasses. Stress is also known to be a major contributor to eye problems.

While corrective lenses do make your vision clearer, they do not strengthen your eyes. In fact, as your eyes become dependent on your eyewear, it is believed by many that glasses and contact lenses actually contribute to a further weakening of your  eyes.  It is difficult  to strengthen any muscle in your body if it is   constantly  being supported by external means. So what can we do to maintain good eye health, and perhaps even strengthen our eyesight?

We don't think of eating foods to help with the care of our eyes, but they too require daily nourishment. The nutrient lutein, found in dark green leafy vegetables and egg yolk, the antioxidant vitamins A, C and E, omega-3 fatty acids, astaxanthin and zinc have all been shown to have beneficial effects on age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of vision loss. Health stores sell vitamins/supplements that contain many of these ingredients. A 2007 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that people who ate simple carbohydrates like cakes, cookies, white bread or foods sweetened with sugar or corn syrup were more prone to eye damage. 

Exercise! Believe it or not, many people do not require eye glasses, what they need is eye exercise. There are many books/videos that promote good eyesight by daily exercising. Orlin G. Sorensen writes in Rebuild Your Vision, "Just as our bodies need regular exercise, so do our eyes. By using the exercises outlined in the Rebuild Your Vision Training Guide, you will help your eyes repair the wear and tear they've experienced for so many years, and you'll begin the process of vision improvement"

One exercise for your eyes involves looking at objects that are close, then objects that are far away; repeating these steps for several minutes. (Nowadays people spend so much time viewing computer monitors, mobile texting devices, cell phones, iPads, portable gaming devices, etc., it's a wonder their eye muscles have any range of motion at all!) Another simple exercisers to rotate your eyes in a circle, without moving your head. Look straight up for 2 seconds, then to the left, then down, then to the right. Again repeat for a few minutes.   There are a variety of exercises, some much more complex than these.

Mr. Sorenson states that by following a daily exercise routine himself, his vision went from 20/100 in his left eye and 20/70 in his right eye to 20/25 vision in both eyes in only 1 month. His goal, which he was able to attain with his improved vision, was to qualify to become a U.S. Navy pilot. In the following months, his eyesight actually improved to 20/20! His book includes many similar success stories.

Another source for natural eyesight improvement can be found on the Internet at the website www.cleareyesightinfo.
Here you can find a wealth of material, in both book and video format, to help you strengthen your vision. The website is based on the works of Dr. William H. Bates, Ophthalmologist - MD., known simply as "The Bates Method".

For what it's worth, I wouldn't expect your local Optometrist to suggest to you to exercise your eyes, rather than selling you a nice pair of corrective lenses .... not much profit in that for him/her!

"Pinhole glasses" are another training device which has helped many people strengthen their vision. You simply wear these glasses for a few minutes a day, gradually a little longer as you get used to them. Pinhole glasses are made with hundreds of tiny holes that change the light entering your eyes from an overpowering mass of light rays to a collection of lower-intensity, distinct light rays that effectively give your eyes a more organized pattern on which to focus. According to Mike Adams, who sells these glasses on his www.naturalnews.com website in the $20 price range, "If you force your eye lens muscles to adapt by challenging them, they will usually respond with improved function over time, just like building leg strength by walking or jogging."

Another problem that we are seeing nowadays (pun intended!) is cataracts. It is said in Canada alone, there are over 2 million sufferers each year. They are most common in people over 40 and are the main cause of blindness worldwide. In simple terms, cataracts appear when the protein in the lens of the eye begins to clump, causing small areas of cloudiness. There are many contributing factors to getting cataracts, including diabetes, tak-ing steroids, tranquilizers or diuretics, using HRT, smoking and heavy metal toxicity. Surgery is usually the only option offered by conventional medicine to people with cataracts; however, there are alternative treatments that may dissolve cataracts preventing their return.  For best results in treating cataracts naturally, visit your local Naturopath.

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and I don't have any

medical training. I am just an individual that researches

information that other people have studied and proven to

be effective, and I just pass that information on to you

..........

THERE  IS  A  LOT  OF  TRUTH  IN  THE  ABOVE

INFO,  BUT  WE  HAVE  TO  BE  BALANCED  HERE.

WE  HAVE  DEGENERATED  AS  HUMAN  BEINGS

OVER  THE  CENTURIES.  YOU  MAY  TRY  ALL

THAT  IS  MENTIONED  ABOVE  AND  OBTAIN  NO

BETTER  EYE-SIGHT [FOR  THOSE  WHO  LIKE  ME

DO  NOT  HAVE  20/20  VISION] THAN  YOU

ALREADY  HAVE.  SOME  IT  HELPS  AND  SOLVES

THEIR  EYE-SIGHT  PROBLEM,  OTHERS  IT  WILL

NOT.  I  BECAME  "SHORT-SIGHTED"  AT  ABOUT

AGE  20.  I  CAN  SEE  JUST  FINE  TO  READ,  WORK

ON  MY  COMPUTER,  BUT  AFTER  ABOUT  2  AND

1/2  FEET  MY  SIGHT  IS  BLURRED [STIGMATISM].

I  HAVE  EATEN  HEALTHY  SINCE  A  YOUNG

TEENAGER,  MY  SIGHT  AT  AGE  71 ON

SEPTEMBER  11TH  2013  HAS NOT  CHANGED

VERY  MUCH  AT  ALL.
   

SO  THE  ABOVE  IS  NOT  THE  CURE-ALL  FOR

EVERYONE,  THERE  MAY  BE  MANY  FACTORS

INVOLVED  WITH  YOUR  EYE-SIGHT,  AND  DIET

AND  EXERCISING  THEM  MAY  NOT  BE  THE

ANSWER,  BUT  FOR  OTHERS,  YES  IT  HAS

WORKED.

......