Ocular Nutrition: Stopping Macular Degeneration AMD, Cataracts and Glaucoma

Apart from being told to eat your carrots, nutrition for the eyes, or ocular nutrition, has not been center stage for preventing and stopping eye disease. This is about to change. Why?

Because not only have leafy green vegetables containing lutein and zeaxanthin upstaged carrots, but there is an even more important scientific discovery...

...new scientific knowledge about a small protein called glutathione (GSH) that plays a crucial role in protecting the eyes.

• Glutathione has long been recognized as a critical OCULAR ANTIOXIDANT, but it was NOT known until recently how to raise glutathione levels.

• Glutathione levels decrease as we age, but it was only recently discovered how to raise glutathione levels on a daily basis, without pharmaceuticals.

Dr. Gutman: The Eyes & Glutathione

• He points out that low levels of glutathione are typical of these diseases, and that raising glutathione with better ocular nutrition can indeed halt the progress, and in many cases reverse these conditions.

• Unfortunately there is no magic pill for raising glutathione, as pills as GSH supplements NOT effective, but it CAN be done with supplements that provide the precursors or building blocks.

• To improve one's glutathione levels one has to increast the nutritional building blocks for the eyes to make enough glutathione!

The Role of Glutathione see "EYES" Medical Nutritional Breakthrough for Keeping Eyes Healthy

Macular Degeneration & Glutathione

Although susceptibility to this disease may be predominantly genetic, contributing factors such as smoking and atherosclerosis can make it worse. This disease is thought to result from the cumulative damage of free radicals primarily released by exposure to ultraviolet (UV) sunlight, but other sources of oxidative stress may play a role.

• Because elderly people generally have low glutathione levels, they are predisposed to oxidative damage, making ocular nutrition very important.

• Researchers have shown that low glutathione levels go along with poor eye health in ARMD patients compared to normal control groups.

Experiments have been conducted to test glutathione's antioxidant function in the whole body and in the eyes of patients suffering from macular degeneration. S.M. Cohen and his team at the University of California (Davis) found significantly altered GSH activity in blood samples of macular degeneration patients.

It appears that high glutathione levels correspond to healthy eyes and suggests a possible role for glutathione in the protection against or delay of this disease through ocular nutrition, or food for the eyes.

Although scientists studying the eye have long recognized the critical importance of glutathione as an antioxidant for ocular nutrition...

• It is only recently that practical ways to increase glutathione have become available for the prevention and treatment of disorders like Macular Degeneration.

• Since taking a glutathione pill is not effective, one has to take the nutritional pre-cursors.

Glaucoma and Glutathione

It becomes more common as we age, runs in certain families, and is often seen in conjunction with diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure) and severe myopia (nearsightedness).

Traditional therapy aims to relieve the pressure in the eye either surgically or with drugs.

The Russians A.I. Bunin, A.A. Filina and V.P. Erichev measured GSH levels in the eyes of hundreds of patients undergoing surgery for all sorts of reasons.

• The lowest glutathione levels were found among cataracts patients and in patients with open angle glaucoma.

• They noticed this fall even at the earliest stages of the disease and suggested that reestablished glutathione levels would help prevent or delay this process.

A Harvard University group investigated different glutathione-related compounds to increase the outflow of fluid from the eye and reduce pressure within it.

They found that cysteine, glutathione and N-acetylcysteine (a pharmaceutical that boosts glutathione) all benefited eye pressure and even lessened the side effects of the drug.

• Nutritional supplements with the nutritional pre-cursors for making glutathione are ideal, and very important important ocular nutrition.

Cataracts and Glutathione

Some of the earliest studies with glutathione focused on its role in preventing cataracts, and glutathione is relatively well known among ophthalmologists.

Cataract is a clouding (opacification) that takes place in the lens of the eye. It is the leading cause of morbidity and functional impairment among the elderly and leads to more than one million operations per year in the United States.

• Oxidative stress plays a role in the aging of the lens, so antioxidants are an important defense against cataracts.

• The researcher M.A. Babizhaev in Russia measured the breakdown products of lipid peroxidation as cataracts developed. He found that as the cataract worsened, oxidative stress increased.

• An Italian team at the University of Bari went a step further and demonstrated that in people with cataracts the loss of glutathione paralleled the increase in oxidative breakdown products.

It is known that cataract in humans usually shows significant, extensive oxidation of lens proteins. With this in mind, researchers experimented on cataracts by stimulating them with various chemicals.

• They showed that cataract formation could be delayed or prevented by elevated glutathione levels.

• Clearly, the key defense in the lens against oxidation is glutathione, and this can be done with ocular nutrition.

The legendary glutathione expert, Alton Meister and a team at Cornell University in New York, used the drug BSO to DEPLETE glutathione levels in the eyes of laboratory animals. The animals subsequently developed cataracts.

Meister's team was then able to PREVENT cataract formation by re-establishing glutathione levels and suggested that this strategy may be effective in delaying cataract formation.

For Studies on Stopping Oxidative Stress for Macular Degeneration, Glaucoma, Cataracts:

A Case Study

Over the previous few years, his wife had commented that the color in his landscapes was too loud. At first he did not believe he had changed his techniques, but a side-by-side comparison with earlier works proved him wrong.

Still, he felt the colors in previous paintings were "weak". A routine check revealed CATARACTS. One eye required surgery, the other was "not yet ripe".

After surgery he eventually recovered excellent vision, but post-operative complications left him hesitant about having the same treatment on the other eye.

His wife did some homework about ocular nutrition and learned about glutathione and cataracts. She started him on nutritional supplements that enhance glutathione levels.

• One year later, his ophthalmologist was baffled by the unusual observation that the cataract was less dense.

• He and his wife are very happy to have found an effective protective ocular nutrition that helps his overall health as well.

For Free E - BOOK, see:

Recommendations for Nutritional Supplements for the Eyes:

Eating Broccoli Is Like Wearing Sunglasses?

Sulphoraphane, a compound found in broccoli and broccoli sprouts, has been found to protect the retina of the eye against oxidative damage.

Researchers Goa and Talalay at Johns Hopkins University say that sulphoraphane could have significant benefits over the category leader in ocular nutrition, lutein, because:

1) Antioxidants such as vitamin C and E, and antioxidant carotenoids like lutein react with free radicals directly, but once they have reacted, they have to be regenerated.

2) But sulphoraphane does not work directly on free radicals. Instead, it up-regulates or boosts the defense system, letting the body itself fight free radicals.

Both Sulphoraphane and Glutathione have the following advantages over antioxidants:

1) These compounds not only protect the eyes but also every part of the body.

2) They can also last longer in the body -- for between four to five days in the cells.

How Much Broccoli Is Protective?

• On the other hand, the protective role of glutathione is well established, and the doses of protein supplement required for ocular nutrition are also known.

• For best protection, you can add proteins that enhance glutathione for best ocular nutrition.

Why Spinach is Better Than Carrots for the Eyes

Research shows that more protective benefits come from the lutein found in spinach than the beta carotene found in carrots.

Lutein and Zeaxanthin are antioxidant carotenoids that are a critical part of the macular pigment that protects the retina from degeneration.

Zeaxanthin can be made by the body from Lutein, which acts as “natural sunglasses” in its ability to protect the eyes from radiation damage by acting as an optical filter. It helps to protect the light-sensitive cones or photo receptor cells in the macula from damaging forms of light and from free radical damage. Lutein is supplied by the diet, in particular through:

LEAFY GREEN VEGETABLES, such as kale, spinach, collards, Swiss Chard, Romaine Lettuce, Beet and Mustard Greens, Endive, as well as in: Egg yolks, red peppers, corn, beetroots, okra, leeks, celery, Brussels sprouts, Pumpkin and peas.

The typical North American diet often does not supply adequate amounts of lutein-rich vegetables for proper ocular nutrition.

Although lutein supplements can also protect the eyes, eating more leafy green vegetables has many more overall health benefits along with preventing eye disease and Macular Degeneration, AMD!

• Ocular nutrition that covers all the bases includes these veggies along with protein that raises glutathione levels for best protection.

Eye Problems: Best Nutrition for Stopping Degeneration

Health Discoveries for the Eyes: Ocular Nutrition and Vitamin Supplements for Macular Degeneration, AMD, Cataracts and Glaucoma

Go to Health Discoveries HOME PAGE from Ocular Nutrition

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