By Sherry Dell, PhD, CN
(first published in “I am the Allower of my own Wellbeing,”a natural health newsletter

We seldom think of it, except perhaps for vanity’s sake, but our skin is the body’s largest organ of both nourishment and elimination.  This makes your skin one of your most critical components of health.
It is also essentially one of your earliest warning signs of nutritional imbalances, stresses, or other biochemical problems.  You already know this.  One night of poor sleep or a bit too much hedonistic overindulgence, and voila!  What do you see in the mirror?  Dark circles under the eyes, a sallowness in your overall color, maybe some skin outbreaks or eruptions.
If we think about our skin at all, we generally think about what we can do topically on the outside to make it look better.  I want to suggest that the best way to make your skin look better happens from what you put on the inside.  And more importantly,  what you put on the inside will determine how well your skin can participate in keeping you healthy.
There are of course many, many kinds of skin conditions and each will communicate its own unique messages of imbalance to those who know how to listen.  Your job is to find a practitioner who can help you translate those messages.  Here are a couple examples of the kinds of messages you might be receiving.
At age 12, 13, 14 or so, acne is likely to be your primary skin symptom. As the hormones of adolescence begin to kick in, it’s easy for imbalances to occur.  If you happen to be eating a high-carbohydrate diet these hormone imbalances are likely to be more pronounced. Too much sugary carbohydrate raises your insulin levels which in turn creates a whole cascade of biochemical changes in your body moving you away from health.  Acne is one of them.
If you’re still having acne at 20, 30, 40, or 50, don’t feel bad.  The standard American diet has managed to keep our hormones imbalanced throughout our lives.  Begin with your diet to correct these problems.
What does a high carbohydrate diet look like?  Besides the obvious sugary foods like sodas, candies, cookies, cakes or other treats, it also includes processed flour-based foods such as cereals, breads, pastas, crackers, pretzels, etc.  For example, pancakes or cereal for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch and pasta for supper along with a soda or two and a few treats throughout the day is a very high-carbohydrate diet.
So the first best thing to do for adolescent acne is to reduce simple carbohydrates in your diet.  Ensure you eat protein at every meal, preferably chicken, fish, turkey or vegetarian proteins; limit the red meats like beef and pork.  Increase high fiber foods like vegetables, fruit, and whole grains (not processed into flours) such as brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat, etc.  Eliminate sodas and juices and other sweet drinks and replace them with pure spring water.  These changes alone may be enough to re-balance hormones and eliminate acne.
Sometimes you will need to add supplements to your diet to regain full balance.  Two that I have found most helpful for acne are zinc and essential fatty acids.  Ask your natural health practitioner for recommendations on doses and specific products.
At age 40, 50, 60 and beyond, wrinkles, sagging, and discoloration are likely to be your primary skin symptoms.  We associate these symptoms with aging.  But this begs the question, what is aging?
Theories abound, but in general, most researchers agree that oxidation caused by toxins and its production of free radicals are highly linked to the symptoms of aging.  In the skin, cells overloaded with toxins (everything from smog and exogenous hormones from animals raised with high levels of antibiotics and hormones to fried foods, caffeine, and alcohol), and suffering from poor circulation caused by high fat, low antioxidant diets, dehydration (too many diuretics such as caffeine and alcohol), low essential fatty acids, and stress result in age spots, wrinkles and dry skin, and poor muscle tone.
Just as we learned in the discussion of acne, your diet is your most powerful choice to reduce the skin symptoms of aging.  Avoid high carbohydrate diets at all costs.  In addition, to reduce wrinkles and to avoid drying out your skin in general avoid all diuretics; replace coffee, caffeinated sodas and alcohol with at least 8 glasses of water/day.  Emphasize fish in your diet to increase the food sources of essential fatty acids in your diet.  Avoid the red meats and other high fat foods to increase circulation.  And of course, daily exercise is also critically important to improve circulation.
Age spots and sallow, yellow skin are indications of a struggling liver.  In the standard, American lifestyle, the liver has a Sisyphean task to accomplish every day (Remember Sisyphus?  He was the king punished by the Gods who had to roll a huge boulder up a mountainside every day only to watch it roll back down again at the end of the day, for eternity; eek!). The liver has to detoxify all the toxins we ingest via eating, drinking, breathing, or assimilating them through our skin.
The good news is there are many things we can do to help our livers with its many jobs.  Cleaning up your diet of course is probably the most important.  Adequate water and optimal biochemical hydration is also a wonderful support to your liver.  Additionally, with the help of a natural health practitioner, you may be able to go on a liver cleansing program for a few days or weeks each year.  You may also be able to make use of liver cleansing and supporting herbs such as milk thistle, turmeric, yellow dock or burdock. 
To me, even more motivating than the vanities of acne-free, wrinkle-free skin, is the fact that these skin health strategies will go a long way toward improving any other health symptoms you might have.  No kidding.  Improve your skin, improve your health.

By Kim Sharples

The Black Death or Bubonic Plague occurred in Europe in the mid 1300’s.  Stories say that the spice merchants never became infected.  It is said they were protected by the spices and “oils” they wore. 

This recipe is similar to a commercial essential oil called Thieves Oil.  While it is credited to the story that this is the blend that the thieves used.  It is similar to the one that the spice merchants used.

This blend is said to be an antibacterial blend.

• Rub a few drops of this blend in to the bottom of your feet – especially during cold and flu season. (This utilized the reflexology points)
• Add to your wash bucket or cleaning solution when cleaning the bathroom or kitchen.
• Add a little when washing towels or towels.
• Add a couple of drops to your air diffuser, fountain or humidifier.
• Put several drops in a small spritzer bottle with water and spray in the air, linens, shower walls, toilet seats and sinks

Recipe to Make Your Own Bacterial Fighting Essential Oil Blend

                                                           HALF (drops)              FOURTH (drops)

200 drops of Clove Bud Oil                                    100                               50                    
175 drops Lemon Oil                                87                                 44                    
100 drops Cinnamon Oil                            50                                 25                                
75 drops Eucalyptus Oil                            38                                 19                    
50 drops Rosemary Oil                              25                                 13

IMPORTANT: Use 18 to 20 drops of this combined oil with 1 oz of carrier oil 

WARNING: Do not ingest and do not use without being diluted in a carrier oil

¼ oz = 1 tsp = 8 ml = 160 drops

½ oz = 3 tsp = 15 ml = 320 to 400 drops

1 oz = 6 tsp – 30 ml = 600 to 650 drops

Acetaminophen – When to Take It

On June 29 and 30, 2009, FDA will hold an advisory committee meeting in Adelphi, Md., about how to address the problem of liver injury related to the use of acetaminophen in both over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription products.  For more information about the meeting, visit the Advisory Committee Web page.

For those who have not been following, there has been much controversy around the use of acetaminophen especially for those 55+.  Finally, the FDA is meeting to discuss when it is wise to take acetaminophen and when not.  In its own right, it is not a bad pain reliever.  It’s just been abused.  One caplet is good.  Two must be better.  And would it hurt to take a third a couple of hours later?  Some bodies just can’t take that many.  Or, they are allergic to red dyes.  Or, they have side effects.

Acetaminophen has been used to relieve mild to moderate pain and to reduce fever.  For those allergic to aspirin, have ulcers, or clotting (bleeding) disorders acetaminophen is a viable substitute.  Just not for everyone.

Here are some things to think about.  When deciding if acetaminophen is the right pain reliever for your family.

First be aware of which drugs have acetaminophen in it.  Read the label.  It should say what ingredients are contained within.  Here are the most common products.  It is also found in drops, syrups, capsules, and pills.

•    Tylenol – Over the counter
•    Vicodin – Prescription Drug
•    Percocet – Prescription Drug
•    APAP – Medical abbreviation
•    Paracetamol – name in the United Kingdom

There are many drugs that interact with acetaminophen.
•    alcohol
•    antacids
•    cimetidine
•    medicines for mental problems and psychotic disturbances
•    phenobarbital
•    warfarin
If you have any of these problems or diseases, consider using another pain reliever.
•    anemia
•    an alcohol problem
•    infection
•    kidney disease
•    liver disease
•    phenylketonuria
•    an unusual or allergic reaction to acetaminophen, aspirin, other medicines, foods, dyes or preservatives
•    and one not on the list, it dries out sinuses and eyes.  So contact wearers eyes dry out more quickly.
The signs and symptoms of liver damage take time to appear.  Early symptoms of liver damage (for example, loss of appetite, nausea, and vomiting) can be mistaken for something else, like the flu. Liver damage can develop into liver failure or death over several days.

Here are some of the side effects that warrant contacting your health care provider:
•    bloody or black, tarry stools
•    decrease in amount of urine passed
•    difficulty breathing, wheezing
•    fever or sore throat
•    nausea, vomiting
•    skin rash
•    stomach cramps
•    unusual bleeding or bruising, pinpoint red spots on the skin
•    unusual tiredness or weakness
•    yellowing of the skin or eyes
1  http://migraineawarenessgroup.com/treatment/tstylnol.htm
2  http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm168830.htm

New  Sign of a Stroke ——– Stick out Your  Tongue

 Another ‘sign’ of a stroke is this: Ask the  person to ‘stick’ out his tongue… If the  tongue is ‘crooked’, if it goes to one side or  the other,  that is  also an indication of a stroke.
For more information on Strokes :http://www.equinaut.net/?p=307

By Dr Janet Hull

www.janethull.com/newsletter/0509/how_to_prevent_the_swine_flu.php

Listen to the radio, watch television, read any newspaper – swine flu is creating a panic. Jury trials are postponed, public events have been cancelled, school districts are shut down, and President Obama says the horse is out of the barn – now what do we do?
First, you don’t panic and second, you activate some serious good sense and some nutritional ER!
Prevention is what all human beings must practice daily to avoid any threat to their safety. You change the oil in your car to prevent your engine from burning and cracking, don’t you? You rotate your tires regularly to prevent wear and tear on your tires to prevent an unexpected flat, don’t you? You balance your bank checking account to prevent bouncing checks, I assume.
So, to prevent catching the flu, take extra supplements to boost your immune system when the threat of a flu outbreak is eminent. Here are some tips that we all should do daily to prevent exposing our bodies to any disease, and don’t just practice these health tips in the eleventh hour when a outbreak of a virus or bacteria or pollutant looms near; practice these daily, for the rest of your life to prevent exposure to ALL those nasty bugs that threaten your immune strength!
• Avoid chemicals in your diet. Not only have most food chemicals been proven to cause disease, but also, they offer your body NO NUTRITION. They are NOT nutrient sources, and they wear the body down because your body cannot process them nor use them in any healthy way. THIS breaks down your immune system, and opens the barn door to disease and viruses like the swine flu.
• Eat healthy foods at every meal and snack. This offers your body the tools it needs to stay strong, so when you are exposed to a virus, your body can excrete that toxin before it takes hold of you.
• Maintain a healthy vitamin supplement program, regularly. Back in the 1960s when the quality of food was more natural and processed foods were not as predominant as today, doctors used to say that taking vitamins was a waste of time and money. That belief has gone out of style along with the VW van and big bubble-cut, hair bobs. With the depletion of healthy soils, plus the chemicals added to both farmland and the plants and animals grown on those grasslands, and with the number of fake food chemicals saturating our food supply, human beings need to add natural nutrients into their daily lives through high-quality vitamins and minerals. And this need begins at a very young age. For those that maintain a healthy vitamin and mineral protocol, their immune systems stay strong, and they suffer less colds and flu, and they typically do not fall victim to degenerative diseases, osteoporosis, cancer, or flu epidemics. Do you ever wonder why your neighbor is always sick, but you are not?
• Take an extra antioxidant supplement when pandemic disease is a threat. An extra antioxidant is good to take when your immune system is compromised, at any time. If you smoke, if you have been diagnosed with a degenerative disease, if you have chronic allergies, if you have Candida or any chronic fungal or bacterial issues, or if you want to prevent catching the swine flu, taking an extra antioxidant supplement is a very wise thing to do.
• Increase you vitamin C to bowel tolerance. I have repeatedly written about the critical need of using vitamin C daily for health! Humans do not make their own vitamin C in their liver, like all other animals do. When THEY are exposed to toxins, viruses, and other elements that weaken their immune systems, all other animals produce as much vitamin C as needed to combat the unhealthy invader. So if your cat or dog is exposed to the swine flu, it will kick in its immune system, produce more vitamin C needed to destroy a virulent disease, it will sleep more, eat less, and drink more water to allow its body to win over the toxin. Humans must do the same, but if you are not eating and drinking whole foods to supply you extra vitamin C to prevent catching the flu or a cold, then you MUST supply that through a quality vitamin C supplement from pure ascorbic acid.
How do you know how much extra vitamin C to take? Well, here is your first clue that you need it, especially if you are getting sick: your stools will begin to dry up, and you may become constipated or have difficulty having a complete bowel movement. At this first clue, increase your ascorbic acid by 1,000 mg a day, and you can do this three times a day if needed. When you have a loose stool for 2-3 days in a row, then begin backing down by 1,000 mg daily until you return to your normal bowel routine. This provides your immune system the extra defense mechanism needed to resist and excrete any viruses or other causes of disease.
• Sniff a solution of warm salt-water up your nostrils every night before bed. I was raised in Florida, and a dunk in the ocean can prevent many illnesses from getting into your body through your nose and mouth. When you keep nasty bugs and viruses from entering your body, and keep a pH balance in these cavities, you can prevent many colds and flu. Mix a solution of one-teaspoon sea salt with one-cup warm water. Cup your hand and sniff into one nostril at a time. Then bath your eyes with the salt-water solution, and gargle with the leftovers. You will have to blow your nose shortly afterwards because the solution will come right back out into your handkerchief, but the contagious elements will come out with it. You are blowing OUT of your body what would have GONE IN.
• Keep Lysol® on hand. Spraying Lysol on door handles, your telephone, on TV remotes, on your computer keyboard and mouse, and on anything that you “touch” is a good way to prevent spreading disease from a contact point into your body.
• Carry baby-wipes with you. Keep a travel pack of baby wipes in your car, briefcase, backpack or purse, and wipe off shopping cart handles, all kind of things in public restrooms, use at school, work, or in public activity centers.
If you do catch the swine flu, immediately activate all the recommendations above to help boost your immune system. Nutritional ER always compliments any medical efforts to remove the virus and restore your heath.
Wishing you healthy swine flu prevention. Now, go take a nap with your cat.

Serious Health Risks
Recalled Products
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers to immediately stop using Hydroxycut products by Iovate Health Sciences Inc., of Oakville, Ontario and distributed by Iovate Health Sciences USA Inc. of Blasdell, N.Y. Some Hydroxycut products are associated with a number of serious liver injuries. Iovate has agreed to recall Hydroxycut products from the market.

Hydroxycut products are dietary supplements that are marketed for weight loss, as fat burners, as energy-enhancers, as low carb diet aids, and for water loss under the Iovate and MuscleTech brand names.

Serious Health Risks
FDA has received 23 reports of serious health problems ranging from jaundice and elevated liver enzymes, an indicator of potential liver injury, to liver damage requiring liver transplant. One death due to liver failure has been reported to the FDA.

Liver injury, although rare, was reported by patients at the doses of Hydroxycut recommended on the bottle. Symptoms of liver injury include jaundice (yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes) and brown urine. Other symptoms include nausea, vomiting, light-colored stools, excessive fatigue, weakness, stomach or abdominal pain, itching, and loss of appetite.

Other health problems reported include seizures; cardiovascular disorders; and rhabdomyolysis, a type of muscle damage that can lead to other serious health problems such as kidney failure.

FDA urges consumers to stop using Hydroxycut products in order to avoid any undue risk, says Linda Katz, M.D., interim chief medical officer of FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. “Adverse events are rare, but exist,” Katz says. “Consumers should consult a physician or other health care professional if they are experiencing symptoms possibly associated with these products.

Recalled Products
The list of products being recalled by Iovate currently includes:

Hydroxycut Regular Rapid Release Caplets
Hydroxycut Caffeine-Free Rapid Release Caplets
Hydroxycut Hardcore Liquid Caplets
Hydroxycut Max Liquid Caplets
Hydroxycut Regular Drink Packets
Hydroxycut Caffeine-Free Drink Packets
Hydroxycut Hardcore Drink Packets (Ignition Stix)
Hydroxycut Max Drink Packets
Hydroxycut Liquid Shots
Hydroxycut Hardcore RTDs (Ready-to-Drink)
Hydroxycut Max Aqua Shed
Hydroxycut 24
Hydroxycut Carb Control
Hydroxycut Natural
Although FDA has not received reports of serious liver-related adverse reactions for all Hydroxycut products, Iovate has agreed to recall all the products listed above. Hydroxycut Cleanse and Hoodia products are not affected by the recall.

Consumers who have these products are advised to stop using them and to return them to the place of purchase. The agency has not yet determined which ingredients, dosages, or other health-related factors may be associated with risks related to these Hydroxycut products. The products contain a variety of ingredients and herbal extracts.

Health care professionals and consumers are encouraged to report serious adverse events (side effects) or product quality problems with the use of these products to FDA’s MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program online, by regular mail, fax or phone.

Online: www.fda.gov/MedWatch/report.htm
Regular Mail: Use FDA postage paid form 3500 found at: www.fda.gov/MedWatch/getforms.htm and mail to MedWatch, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20852-9787
Fax: 800-FDA-0178
Phone: 800-FDA-1088

FDA continues to investigate the potential relationship between Hydroxycut dietary supplements and liver injury or other potentially serious side effects

Pollen grains from trees, grasses and weeds can float through the air in spring, summer or fall. But on their way to fertilize plants and tree flowers, pollen particles often end up in our noses, eyes, ears and mouths. The result can be sneezing spells, watery eyes, congestion and an itchy throat.

The collection of symptoms that affect the nose when you breathe in something you are allergic to is called allergic rhinitis; when the symptoms affect the eyes, it’s called allergic conjunctivitis. Allergic rhinitis caused by plant pollen is commonly called hay fever—although it’s not a reaction to hay and it doesn’t cause fever.

Pollen allergy affects about 1 out of 10 Americans, according to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). For some, symptoms can be controlled by using over-the-counter (OTC) medicine occasionally. Others have reactions that may more seriously disrupt the quality of their lives. Allergies can trigger or worsen asthma and lead to other health problems such as sinus infection (sinusitis) and ear infections in children.

“You can distinguish allergy symptoms from a cold because a cold tends to be short-lived, results in thicker nasal secretions, and is usually associated with sore throat, hoarseness, malaise, and fever,” says Badrul Chowdhury, M.D., Ph.D., an allergist and immunologist in the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Many people with allergic rhinitis notice a seasonal pattern with their symptoms, but others may need a health care professional’s help to find out for sure if pollen is the source of their misery. If symptoms crop up year-round, dust mites, pet dander or another indoor allergy trigger (allergen) could be the culprit. This year-round condition is known as perennial allergic rhinitis.

When to Get Treatment

Chowdhury suggests seeing a health care professional if you experience allergies for the first time, your symptoms interfere with your ability to function, you don’t find relief from OTC drugs, or you experience allergy symptoms over a long period.

You may need an allergy test, the most common of which is a skin test that shows how you react to different allergens, including specific pollen allergens like ragweed and grass pollen.

Avoid Pollen

Once you know you have seasonal allergies, try to avoid pollen as much as possible, says Chowdhury. Pay attention to pollen counts and try to stay indoors when pollen levels are highest. Pollen counts measure how much pollen is in the air (pollen level) and are expressed in grains of pollen per square meter of air collected during a 24-hour period.

• In the late summer and early fall, during ragweed pollen season, pollen levels are highest in the morning.
• In the spring and summer, during the grass pollen season, pollen levels are highest in the evening.
• Some molds, another allergy trigger, may also be seasonal. For example, leaf mold is more common in the fall.
• Sunny, windy days can be especially troublesome for pollen allergy sufferers.

It may also help to

• keep windows closed in your house and car and run the air conditioner
• avoid mowing grass and doing other yard work, if possible

wear a face mask designed to filter pollen out of the air and keep it from reaching nasal passages.

By BigVil600

Presented by: Michele E. Mukatis

It is  that time of year; if you listen closely, you can hear the call – go get me greens – lettuces, arugula, parsley, and others. I want peas, radishes and asparagus to scrub winter’s sluggishness out of my system. Listen to that siren’s song. You may not like everything that your best friend, husband or children like, but your body will tell you what it needs.
Seasonal eating is not a new notion. People around the world have been doing it since the beginning of time and Ayurveda is a whole way of life designed around knowing your type and living seasonally.
In the winter, our bodies need to stock up on foods that will give us more to draw from to protect our bodies from the severe weather that happens in many climates. Apples, root vegetables, potatoes, onions, oils, heavier starches and meats are more readily available and will necessarily put on the pounds if you eat enough.
When spring arrives, the fruits and vegetables that grow well are designed to flush fat and extra pounds from your system. For instance, strawberries are very low in calories, but satisfy that sweet tooth that you get from winter produce. Lettuces and other greens as well as cabbages, broccoli, radishes, asparagus and peas, are full of fiber and astringent or bitter qualities, all of which help to flush fat.
At this point, you should be cutting down on the oils you intake, which means eating fewer nuts and less of the heavier, starchier grains as well as fattier meats. Bring millet, corn, rye and barley into your diet and eat less wheat and rice.
Of course, cutting down on the sugar intake is also key. All of those starchy sweet vegetables which were great over the winter will give way to the spring fruit such as strawberries in the early spring and cherries and blueberries as the season progresses. Use raw honey or agave nectar as a sweetener, instead of more processed sugars, to give you a boost, but keep it natural and easily digested.
Finally, you don’t need to make the switch overnight. Just as winter gives way to spring with highs and lows over a series of weeks, you can make the changes in your diet gradually. This is the best way to not stress your system.
As with anything, the point is to pay attention to what your body is saying it needs. You may not know why you “don’t like” peas, but your body may have a good reason. Maybe peas have a nutrient of which you already have enough. If your body tells you not to eat something, it’s okay to leave it out, even if your best friend swears it’s the best weight-loss, energy-giving food he’s ever found.
Enjoy the savor of spring cleaning and lightness that the season brings.
I
The Nibble
One way to relax and feel good
Savor a spicy meal. Hot foods trigger the release of endorphins – the natural chemicals that trigger feelings of euphoria and well-being.Spicy foods can   also help you slim down because they speed up your metabolism and make you feel satisfied more quickly.

Considerably more people than previously believed are allergic to the most common fragrance ingredient used in shampoos, conditioners and soap. In a study, over 5 percent of those who underwent patch testing were allergic to the air oxidized form of the fragrance ingredient linalool.

Linalool is found in 60 to 80 percent of perfumed hygiene products, soap and household cleaning agents that can be bought in the supermarket, so it can be difficult for people who are allergic to avoid these products.

In the study, oxidized linalool was added at patch testing for more than 3,000 patients who wanted to find out what was causing their eczema. Between 5 percent and 7 percent proved to be allergic.
Sources:
Eurekalert March 27, 2009
Contact Dermatitis January 2009; 60(1):32-40

by Dr. Mercola

Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness in the world, and belongs to a group of eye diseases that damage your optic nerve, leading to vision loss. In its early stages, glaucoma may produce no symptoms at all, and it’s estimated that half of the more than 4 million Americans with glaucoma do not even realize they have it.[1]

Because the vision loss caused by glaucoma comes on so gradually, it is sometimes called the “silent thief of sight.” Often, it’s not until the disease is at an advanced stage that the related vision loss becomes apparent, and by then your sight may suffer permanent damage.

This is why it’s so important to take steps now to help protect your vision, even if your eyesight is normal. I’ll be discussing exactly what you can do to help prevent and treat glaucoma later in the article, but first here’s a bit of background on this common eye problem.

What Causes Glaucoma?

The underlying causes of glaucoma are not completely understood, but typically the damage it does to your optic nerve is related to increased pressure in your eye. The pressure typically comes from a buildup of pressure from the aqueous humor, the watery fluid that is naturally present in your eyeball.

In a healthy eye, the fluid is regularly drained, however in those with glaucoma the drainage system doesn’t work properly, so the fluid gradually builds up in your eye, causing increased pressure. Over time, the increased pressure causes nerve fibers that are essential to vision to die.

Though less common, glaucoma can also occur when eye pressure is normal. It appears some people’s optic nerves may be sensitive to normal levels of eye pressure, or the glaucoma may be related to problems with blood flow to your eye, which may be caused by atherosclerosis — the accumulation of plaques in your arteries — or another circulation problem.

In the most common type of glaucoma, open-angle (chronic) glaucoma, side (peripheral) vision is usually affected first. In the later stages, glaucoma can lead to “tunnel vision,” where you can only see straight ahead, and can eventually lead to blindness. The symptoms are gradual and come on very slowly, so you may not realize your vision is being impacted until much later stages.

About 10 percent of those with glaucoma have what’s called angle-closure (acute) glaucoma, and in these cases a sudden rise in eye pressure can cause:

Severe eye pain
Blurred vision
Sudden visual disturbances
Halos around lights
Reddening of the eye
Nausea and vomiting
This latter form usually requires immediate treatment.

Who is at Risk?

Anyone can get glaucoma, but there are factors that increase your risk:

Certain ethnicities: Glaucoma is six to eight times more common in African-Americans than in Caucasians.[2] Mexican-Americans, Asian-Americans and Japanese-Americans are also at an increased risk.
Over 60 years old: The risk of glaucoma increases once you are over 60.
Chronic diseases: Diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and hypothyroidism all increase your risk.
Family history: If someone in your family has glaucoma, it may increase your risk.
Eye injury and nearsightedness: Eye injuries such as retinal detachment, eye tumors, eye inflammations and eye surgery, as well as nearsightedness, increase your risk.
Use of corticosteroids: A prolonged use of these drugs appears to increase your risk, especially corticosteroid eye drops.
Making Sure Glaucoma is Diagnosed Correctly

Ophthalmologists typically rely on a simple “air puff” test to check for high pressure inside your eye. However, if you are getting screened for this disease, please make sure you also have your corneal thickness measured using a relatively newer test called pachmyetry. 

Pachymetry, which measures corneal thickness, may be a more reliable indicator of the pressure inside your eye because the thickness of your cornea can significantly influence the readings on the air puff test.

If you have thin corneas, the instrument may give falsely low readings and may miss the diagnosis of glaucoma. If you have thick corneas the air puff test can actually misdiagnosis you as having glaucoma despite the fact that you have normal eye pressures.

Conventional Ways Lower Your Eye Pressure

Conventional medicine’s solution to glaucoma is typically drugs or surgery, or a combination of them. Often eye drops are given to glaucoma patients to use for life in an attempt to lower pressure inside of their eyes, but they come with a laundry list of side effects including:

Blurred vision
Respiratory problems
Forgetfulness
Lowered heart rate
Burning or stinging in the eyes
Surgery also carries with it serious risks, among them an increased risk of cataracts.

Natural Ways to Lower Your Eye Pressure

You do have another option, though, as surprising as it may sound the same lifestyle changes that lower blood pressure typically also work to lower your eye pressure, thereby helping to prevent and even treat glaucoma without a risk of side effects.

The top two steps are:

Lower your insulin levels: As your insulin levels rise, it causes your blood pressure, and possibly also your eye pressure, to increase. In time this can cause your body to become insulin resistant, and studies show insulin resistance — which is common in people with diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure — is linked to elevated eye pressure.[3]
The solution is to avoid sugar and grains, the two “food groups” that will inevitably cause surges in your insulin levels. Even whole, organic grains will rapidly break down to sugars, so they too should be avoided. So in addition to avoiding sugar, if you have glaucoma or are concerned about it, you’ll want to avoid foods like:

Breads
Pasta
Rice
Cereal
Potatoes

Exercise regularly: One of the most effective ways to lower your insulin levels is through exercise. A regular, effective exercise program consisting of aerobics, sprint-burst type exercises, and strength training can go a long way toward reducing your insulin levels and protecting your vision.
Other Tips to Keep Your Vision Healthy

As part of your overall program to keep your eyesight clear and problem-free, even as you age, make sure you are doing the following:

Taking an animal-based omega-3 fat supplement. A type of omega-3 fat called docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) may help protect and promote healthy retinal function. DHA is concentrated in your eye’s retina and has been found to be particularly useful in preventing macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness.
Omega-3 fat, including DHA, is found in fish, but I don’t recommend eating fish due to the concerns of mercury and other toxins that have been found in fish from oceans, lakes and streams and farm-raised fish. Instead, my most highly recommended source for omega-3 fat is krill oil.

Getting loads of lutein and zeaxanthin. Many have never heard of these two vision powerhouses, but they are incredibly important for your eyesight. Lutein, which is a carotenoid found in particularly large quantities in green, leafy vegetables, acts as an antioxidant, protecting cells from free radical damage.
Some excellent sources include kale, collard greens, spinach, broccoli, brussels sprouts and egg yolks, particularly raw egg yolks. Egg yolks also have zeaxanthin, another carotenoid, in an equal amount to lutein. Zeaxanthin is likely to be equally as effective as lutein in protecting eyesight.

It is important to note that lutein is an oil-soluble nutrient, and if you merely consume the above vegetables without some oil or butter you can’t absorb the lutein. So make sure you’re eating some healthy fat along with your veggies,

Eggs yolks are also loaded with these nutrients but once the egg is cooked they tend to be damaged and non useful. So you can consume them raw by whipping them up in a shake or cooking them minimally as in sunny side or poach them with runny yolks.

Avoiding trans fats:  Trans fat may interfere with omega-3 fats in your body, which are extremely important for your eye health. A diet high in trans fat also appears to contribute to macular degeneration. Trans fat is found in many processed foods and baked goods, including margarine, shortening, fried foods like French fries, fried chicken and doughnuts, cookies, pastries and crackers.
Eating dark-colored berries. The European blueberry, bilberry, is known to prevent and even reverse macular degeneration, and bioflavonoids from other dark-colored berries including blueberries, cranberries and others will also be beneficial. They work by strengthening the capillaries that carry nutrients to eye muscles and nerves.
However, because berries contain natural sugar they should be eaten in moderation to avoid upsetting your insulin levels.

Following the healthy lifestyle tips I’ve described above will go a long way toward protecting your vision, whether you’ve been diagnosed with glaucoma or simply want to keep your eyesight in top condition. If you have glaucoma, however, it’s especially important to eliminate those grains and sugars, get exercising, and consume animal-based omega-3 fat regularly in order to keep the disease from progressing.

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[1] Glaucoma Research Foundation, Glaucoma Facts and Stats

[2] Glaucoma Research Foundation, Are You at Risk for Glaucoma? 

[3] MayoClinic.com Glaucoma