| Question: | | | | carrots and other orange-coloured vegetables and |
| I intend to join the forces in five years when I | | | | fruit. Dark red and purple fruit, such as bilberries, |
| graduate from university, but my eyesight is | | | | are also associated with eye health. Blue-green |
| getting worse quite quickly - although I have net | | | | algae, which you can buy in supplement form in |
| been diagnosed with any eye condition. I am | | | | health shops, is also high in betacarotene. I |
| worried about having corrective laser eye surgery | | | | recommend taking Amla (Indian gooseberry) |
| because there is a risk of being left with even | | | | powder, which contains perfectly preserved |
| worse eyesight. Are there any herbal | | | | natural vitamin C and other ingredients that help |
| supplements or vitamins that could help improve | | | | eyesight (perhaps by. aiding circulation of blood to |
| my vision? | | | | retina). Take ½ teaspoonful, twice daily |
| Answer: | | | | with water for three months. |
| The eyes are the most powerful and precious | | | | Therapeutic Iyengar yoga has a series of |
| organs in the body, so it is very important to look | | | | exercises which are ideal for maintaining and |
| after them. | | | | improving sight. |
| The different structures of the eyeball - cornea, | | | | Here are some suggestions (hold each gaze for |
| sclera, pupil, retina, fluids and the muscles that | | | | five seconds): |
| move the eyes in different directions - were | | | | 1. Stand straight look ahead and keep your head |
| identified by Galen, the great Greek physician and | | | | still. Look up and then look down. Repeat five |
| surgeon( circa A D 129-216). Although the eye | | | | times. |
| functions as one organ, each part has a specific | | | | 2. Rub your palms together for a few seconds to |
| role - to protect, nourish with blood or nutrients, | | | | generate heat, then place them over your eyes |
| facilitate the smooth passage of light, make a | | | | for a few moments to soothe them. |
| photochemical analysis of what is seen, pass | | | | 3. Stand straight, look ahead and keep your head |
| sensory information to the brain, and so on. | | | | still. Look to the left and then look to the right. |
| Since no specific cause has been diagnosed for | | | | Repeat five times. Repeat step two. |
| your failing vision, I suggest you do everything | | | | 4. Look diagonally up to the left, then do the |
| possible to look after your sight and help it to | | | | same down to the right. Repeat five times. |
| improve. Blood supply to the retina is 100 percent | | | | Repeat step two. |
| essential to vision: anaemia and low blood pressure | | | | 5. Look diagonally up to the right, then do the |
| often cause black spots to float before the eyes, | | | | same down to the left. Repeat five times. Repeat |
| and may cause a decrease in vision. Diabetic | | | | step two. |
| retinopathy, a major complication of diabetes, is | | | | 6. Rotate your eyes clockwise five times, |
| primarily due to decreased blood flow to the | | | | following an imaginary dot. Do the same |
| retina. | | | | anticlockwise. Repeat step two. |
| Nutrition is very important you must eat l00g fine | | | | 7. Fix your gaze at a distant point, then look at |
| protein every day (vegans frequently suffer from | | | | the tip of your nose. Do this five times. Repeat |
| anaemia and low blood pressure). The fat-soluble | | | | step two. |
| vitamin A (betacarotene) is essential for synthesis | | | | 8. Rub your eyes gently to wipe away any tears. |
| of retinal, a pigment in the retina. Retinal converts | | | | 9. Cup your hands rightly over - your eyes so |
| light energy on the retina into chemical energy, | | | | that no light enters. Look into the darkness for |
| which is then transferred to the brain as electrical | | | | five seconds, then open your hands and look at a |
| energy. (Solar panels that capture the sun's rays | | | | candle or into bright outdoor light. Repeat this |
| and convert them into electricity function on | | | | cycle five times so that you stare at darkness |
| similar principles.) Carotene is found in chicken, | | | | one moment, then into bright light the next. |
| eggs, game, lean meat and fish. Vegetarians | | | | Also, protect your eyes with wraparound |
| should eat six to ten almonds a day, soaked in | | | | sunglasses (with 100 percent UVA/UVB |
| room temperature water for 24 hours. A | | | | protection) in bright sunlight. Remember that |
| compound similar to carotene is also found in | | | | blinking regularly is important too. |