Vision/Sight and Eye Health Care

Eyes are one of the most important organs in the human body and vision is one of the most wonderful gifts. But often many people neglect the importance of eye care and do not pay proper attention towards eye care.

Which vitamins important for healthy eyes?

There are many eye vitamins on the market which can help improve your vision or maintain good eyesight. Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin B and Lutein are more important in the prevention of cataracts. These are probably the best eye vitamins on the market right now. Lutein is responsible for filtering out dangerous UV rays. If your eyes are unprotected, then you may lose vision very soon. Some studies have shown that zinc and Vitamin C can help in decreasing the development of macular degeneration.

One vitamin that is essential for eye health is Lutein. The human body is completely unable to produce enough Lutein to sustain the eye so it is necessary for you to get this vitamin elsewhere. It is believed that your body needs at least 6mg of Lutein each day for optimum eye health. Since it is difficult to get enough Lutein in your diet through eating healthy foods, it is important to take Lutein supplement.

It is best if you get zinc from foods because it can be dangerous for you to take it through a supplement. Large doses can interfere with your body's absorption of copper. Copper is essential nutrient that your body needs to sustain itself. Therefore you should not disturb the absorption.

There are even vitamins for chronic dry eye. Everyone has experienced dry eye at some point life, but unfortunately, there are some people who suffer from this time and time again. Among the vitamins that are available are flaxseed oil, fish oil, and beta carotene besides other substances like primrose oil.

Vitamins and Minerals For Eyes ~ Vitamin A: Improves night vision. Food Source for vitamin A is dark green leafy vegetables, carrots; spinach, broccoli, eggs, cheese and butter are also great sources.

Vitamin B complex is good to reduce redness in eyes and can help eyes that are sensitive to light. Food Sources for vitamins B1 (thiamin), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), B6 (pyridoxine), B12 (cobalamin): pastas, breads, milk, dark green vegetables, mushrooms, tuna, nuts, avocados, and bananas, liver.

Carotene allows the formation of visual purple in the eyes, which helps improve weak eyes. A good source of carotene is: carrots, broccoli, cabbage and peas.

What foods contain the vitamins I need for my eyes?

Lutein is a carotenoid that is found naturally in fruits and leafy green vegetables. Zinc can be found in a lot of foods. Among them are oysters, meat, and liver supply which supply you with lot of mineral. Brewer's yeast, milk, beans, and wheat germ also supply you with zinc, only in smaller amounts.

Vitamin A, on the other hand can be found in several foods. Liver, sweet potatoes, carrots, mangoes, spinach, cantaloupe, dried apricots, milk, egg yolks and mozzarella cheese are the top ten vitamins available.

There are many foods are rich in Vitamin C as there are in Vitamin A. Sweet potatoes, red ripe tomatoes, kale, and broccoli consist of lot of Vitamin C components. The most notable food of all is oranges. It is full of nutrients beside Vitamin C.

Did you know that one cup of broccoli a day would keep your eyes healthy? That's right there are many foods out there that can help with maintaining your eye care. A few of them such as walnuts, pecans, almonds, wheat germ, spinach and any other leafy green.

These are just a few of the many foods that will help you keep the right amount of vitamins in your system at all times and keep your eyes healthy

Given below are some eye care tips for beautiful and attractive eyes.

• ·         Dip a cotton pad in a cup of water overnight. Strain this in the morning and add 1 cup of plain water to this. Splash the eyes with this water or wash them with the help of an eyecup.
• ·         Dip a pad of cotton wool in rose water to which 2-3 drops of Castor oil is mixed. Place these soaked pads on the eyelids for 15-20 minutes. Eye burns and other problems will be reduced.
• ·         Splash the eyes with a weak n very liter tea solution, thoroughly strained and cooled for 2 to 3 minutes.
• ·         Place Cotton pads dipped in a cold tea solution for an hour on the eyelids for 10 to 15 minutes and relax.

Dark Circles - Natural eye care, removing dark circles

• ·         Grate 3 pieces of cucumber and squeeze them through a muslin cloth and extract the juice. Dip cotton pads in this juice for 2 minutes and place on eyelids and darkened areas. Relax for 15 minutes for best results continue for 2 to3 days.
• ·         Take 1 teaspoon of Tomato pulp,1 pinch of Turmeric powder, half teaspoon of lime juice and 1 teaspoon of gram flour. Make a paste of the above ingredients and apply gently on the eye lids and the darkened areas and let it remain for half an hour. Remove gently with moist cotton pads after half an hour. Repeat this for a week

Deep Sunken Eyes - Herbal treatment

• ·         Mix 1 teaspoon of honey with half teaspoon of almond oil. Apply the above mixture gently on the eyes at bedtime. Repeat this for a week.
• ·         Soak 5 Almonds overnight. Peel them and mix it with a glass of milk eat the almonds by chewing well. Repeat this in the morning for 21 days should definitely help.

Puffy Eyes

• ·         Slice a raw Potato and circle the closed eyes with these halves. Or else grate a raw Potato and place on Muslin cloth and squeeze. Place these on the eyes and relax for 15-20 minutes.
• ·         Place cotton pads dipped in chilled milk before boiling on the eye lids while relaxing for 10-15 minutes.
• ·         In a small bowl of chilled water add few drops of Vitamin E oil. Dip cotton pads for 5 minutes in this and place on the eyes while relaxing for 20 minutes daily.

Improves Night Vision ~ Mix together 30 drops of Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) with 8 ounces water, drink 3 times a day. Or drink 2 glasses of blueberry juice a day.

Improve Weak Eyes ~ Drink a glass of carrot juice daily

Relieve Eyestrain ~ Place slices of cucumber over closed eyes for 15 minutes. Its cooling and refreshing to the eyes.

Reduce Swelling or Puffiness ~ Use green tea that has steeped for five minutes and cooled. Wipe the eyes with this solution several times a day. Drinking tea helps to deter cataracts.

Eye care Instructions for people using computers

Spending long hours in front of television or computers is part of peoples life today. Especially if you are a computer professional, there is usually no escape from it. This causes many eyes and vision related problems in future. Here are some useful eye care tips for computer users.

• ·         After every 20 to 30 minutes of work, look at a distant away object and blink several times. This will help in better focusing
• ·         Blink frequently. People tend to reduce blink rate while working on computer. This can lead to dry eyes. Try to blink 12 to 15 times every minute.
• ·         Exercise you eyes at frequent intervals. Eye exercise is simple. All you need to do is just blink several times, then close your eyes and role them in clockwise and anti clockwise direction. While doing this, inhale and exhale slowly and open your eyes slowly after doing this.
• ·         Rub your palms against each other till them become warm. Cover your eyes with your warm palms for about a minute. Palming is another great way to relax and soothe your eyes.
• ·         Splashing water on you face during breaks can keep you refreshed. This also helps in cooling your eyes.
• ·         A few minutes of walk during breaks will refresh your body and mind. It is also good for your eyes as walking increases blood supply to your eyes.
• ·         Fix an anti glare screen on to your monitor or use anti glare glass while working on computers. Also position the monitor and lights in such a manner that so you get minimum glare from the screen.

Frequent check-ups with your optician will help keep your eyes healthy. If your eyes become a little weak, wearing glasses for a period of time can often strengthen your eyes back to the point where you no longer need them. If you continue to let your eyes deteriorate without visiting the eye doctor, the damage may be too great to reverse. Often, your prescription will change in a short period of time and it is important to keep on top of it to avoid further damage to your eyes.

STRESS Part 3 Stress-free Diet

This final part, we would discuss about fighting stress with balance and correct diet. Certain foods cause more stress while others will relax the body and spirit. Since stress is considered one of health problem, many do not know that diet can play an important role in stress management. Certain types of foods increase the physical symptoms of stress, while others ease the physical manifestations of stress. Therefore, it is clear that some specific foods should be avoided during stress and some should be eaten more than others.

Foods can fight stress in several ways. Comfort foods, like a bowl of warm oatmeal, actually boost levels of serotonin, a calming brain chemical. Other foods can reduce levels of cortisol and adrenaline, stress hormones that take a toll on the body over time. 

One of them is added sugar. Excess sugar is nothing but empty calories and is processed immediately after taking it, giving an immediate boost to the adrenal glands (boosting up cortisol and adrenaline) . So you are feeling good after sweets but however, what you didn’t know is that the adrenal glands as usual are already over worked. It’s like putting them on steroids or getting a turbo for F1 car. Furthermore, our body has to use enzymes, vitamins and minerals from our deposit account to process these added sugar. Over a time period, a diet rich in sugar, drain out body minerals and vitamins and becomes insignificant and more susceptible to stress.
Another food that causes the adrenaline glands working diligently is excess of caffeine. Caffeine is present in colas, coffee and tea, and given the large quantities of these drinks you consumed, the stress levels are obviously higher in this generation, compared with the previous.
Whole foods such as wheat, oats, whole grains, fruits, vegetables are exactly what you need to include as an element to their diet. Make sure that these fruits and vegetables are not processed and canned, but fresh and raw. Fruits and vegetables contain a quantity of fiber and therefore help the simple elimination of toxins and waste. They also take longer to digest, and so release energy slowly and steadily, compared with short bursts of energy related to fast food. As a result, you do not feel hungry between meals and your energy level in a coherent whole. Finally, a nutritious diet can counteract the impact of stress, by shoring up the immune system and lowering blood pressure. Do you know which foods are stress busters?

Fighting Stress Diet

Carbs ~ All carbs prompt the brain to make more serotonin. For a steady supply of this feel-good chemical, it’s best to eat complex carbs, which are digested more slowly. Good choices include whole-grain breakfast cereals, breads, and pastas, as well as old-fashioned oatmeal. Complex carbs can also help you feel balanced by stabilizing blood sugar levels.

Dieticians usually recommend steering clear of simple carbs, which include sweets and soda. But these foods can provide short-term relief of stress-induced irritability. Simple sugars are digested quickly, leading to a spike in serotonin.

Vitamin C ~ Oranges make the list for their wealth of vitamin C. Studies suggest this vitamin can reduce levels of stress hormones while strengthening the immune system. If you have a particularly stressful event coming up, you may want to consider supplements. In one study, blood pressure and cortisol levels returned to normal more quickly when people took 3,000 milligrams of vitamin C before a stressful task.

Magnesium ~ It helps regulate cortisol levels and tends to get depleted when we’re under pressure. Too little magnesium may trigger headaches and fatigue, compounding the effects of stress. One cup of spinach goes a long way toward replenishing magnesium stores. Not a spinach eater? Try some cooked soybeans, or a filet of salmon, also high in magnesium.

Fatty Fish ~To keep cortisol and adrenaline in check, make friends with fatty fish. Omega-3 fatty acids, found in fish like salmon and tuna, can prevent surges in stress hormones and protect against heart disease. For a steady supply, aim to eat three ounces of fatty fish at least twice a week.

Pistachios ~ They can soften the impact stress hormones have on the body. Adrenaline raises blood pressure and gets your heart racing when you’re under stress. Eating a handful of pistachios every day can lower blood pressure, so it won’t spike as high when that adrenaline rush comes.

Avocados ~ One of the best ways to reduce high blood pressure is to get enough potassium -- and half an avocado has more potassium than a medium-sized banana. In addition, guacamole offers a nutritious alternative when stress has you craving a high-fat treat.

Almonds ~ Almonds are chock full of helpful vitamins. There’s vitamin E to bolster the immune system, plus a range of B vitamins, which may make the body more resilient during bouts of stress. To get the benefits, snack on a quarter of a cup every day.

Raw Veggies ~ Crunchy raw vegetables can fight the effects of stress in a purely mechanical way. Munching celery or carrot sticks helps release a clenched jaw, and that can ward off tension headaches

Bedtime Snack ~ Carbs at bedtime can speed the release of serotonin and help you sleep better. Heavy meals before bed can trigger heartburn, so stick to something light like toast and jam.

Milk ~ Another bedtime stress buster is the time-honored glass of warm milk. Researchers have found calcium can reduce muscle spasms and soothe tension, as well as easing anxiety and mood swings linked to PMS. Dieticians typically recommend skim or low-fat milk.

A nutritious diet is what the body wants in order to fight stress. We are what we eat. By changing our perspective to our body nutritious than meet our taste receptors, we will go a long way in building a healthy body and a stress-free life.