Macular Degeneration

• Free radicals can damage the eyes. They are formed when the ultraviolet and blue light of sunlight passes through the crystalline lens. Free radicals are also natural byproducts of metabolism. These highly reactive chemicals cause oxidation, and can destabilize healthy cells in the back of the eyes. Free radical damage is accelerated by smoking, chronic fatigue, and having a compromised immune system.
• Nutritional Deficiencies and poor digestion - Often sufferers of macular degeneration are deficient in a number of the nutrients that are essential to eye health: essential fatty acids, lutein, zeaxanthin, taurine, antioxidants, bioflavenoids, zinc, selenium, and vitamin B-complex.
• Heredity

Individuals at risk for macular degeneration include:

• Women
• Smokers - smoking increases the risk of ARMD by 200-300%
• Adult diabetics
• People with uncontrolled high blood pressure
• Those lacking sufficient ability to absorb nutrients through their digestive tracts
• Those with a family history of macular degeneration

Drugs that can damage the retina:

Also see a list of harmful drugs

• Plaquenil (hydroxchloriquine sulfate), routinely prescribed by rheumatologists for rheumatoid arthritis, it has caused irreversible retinal damage.
• Chloridine (brand name Catapres), used to lower blood pressure
• The whole family of NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) can cause visual side effects such as cataracts, dry eyes, and retinal hemorrhages that may result from long-term use. These include aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, Bayer, Aleve), flurbiprofen, ketoprofen and naproxen sodium. Also Tylenol (acetaminophen), though not an NSAID, can be harmful.

At the present, there is no effective treatment for macular degeneration. Some cases of macular degeneration are treated with laser surgery, but the treatment itself may not effectively seal up a leaky blood vessel without at the same time permanently destroying retinal nerve fibers that pass through the same area. According to the National Eye Institute, laser treatment can actually worsen vision, and any ability to slow the progression of disease does not appear until at least a year after surgery.

Photodynamic Therapy (PVT) is now used to help seal leaky blood vessels in the retina. This procedure is generally much less damaging than traditional laser treatments because it is more effective at targeting abnormal blood vessels and is less likely to damage retinal cells.

Doctors are now using injectable antiangiogenesis drug into the retina for wet macular degeneration. These drugs help prevent the body from growing new, leak-prone blood vessels in the retina. Macugen is one of the more common drugs being injected, though Lucentis and Avastin are considered more effective treatment strategies. So far, the best results so far have been in studies involving a combination of Lucentis and PVT to help stabilize wet macular degeneration.

Drugs can have potentially serious side effects, so the benefits of going on these therapies have to be evaluated with your eye doctor and family.

As always, prevention is the best medicine. Using complementary medicine to try to address the underlying cause of macular degeneration, along with conventional Western medicine to try to prevent damage on in acute situation, is the best approach to preserving vision both short and long-term. Since less than one-percent of those with macular degeneration have progressed to the point of legal blindness, most are in a position to benefit greatly from prevention.

Since we consider most eye conditions to be a reflection of the health of the entire body, lifestyle choices and diet can play a major factor in cultivating and maintaining good vision. Our recommendations include:

Diet & Nutrition

• The Vision Diet - recommended in Natural Eye Care: Your Guide to Healthy Vision, authored by Marc Grossman, O.D., L.Ac. and Michael Edson, MS, L.Ac. This CD covers 29 major eye conditions, including macular degeneration. It offers advice and instruction on nutrients, diet, exercise, and juicing specific to each eye condition, plus much more.
• Daily juicing of vegetables and fruits (preferably organic). Our macular degeneration recipe includes a combination of the following: ginger, garlic, leeks, parsley, beets, cabbage, carrots, celery, spinach, kale, collard greens, apples, grapes, raspberries, lemon, chlorophyll, and wheat grasses (but not too much fruit). Learn more about juicing.
• Reduce or eliminate caffeine and sodas, avoid aspartame (foods labeled "diet") and man made fats (corn oil and safflower oil, trans fats and hydrogenated vegetable oils including canola oil, and especially margarines). Eating food with significant quantities of saturated fat and cholesterol seems to increase the risk of developing AMD.
• Eliminate deep fat fried foods, (MSG), which is used as a flavor enhancer, because it is a potential retinal toxin (Inv Oph 1996; 37: 1618-24), and fat blockers like Olestra which impair the absorption of carotenoids (Argus, August 1996;19:18:July 1996;19:22).
• Limit your alcohol consumption to one glass of red wine at night. Alcohol interferes with liver functions, reducing protective glutathione levels (Alcohol 1993;10;469-75).
• Supplement your diet with an excellent eye whole based food formula such as Dr. Grossman's Advanced Eye & Vision Support Formula, and an organic green drink daily such as Renewal Greens.

Lifestyle & General Health

• Eliminate smoking. Among other things, smoking produces cyanide, a retinal toxin.
• Limit the amount of medications (both prescription and non-prescription) as much as possible. Make sure to work closely with your doctor.
• Exercise daily - do at least 20 minutes of aerobic exercise daily. Walking and swimming are two excellent forms of exercise.
• Managing your emotional health is very important in maintaining physical health. Fear (fear of failure, responsibility, of being alone, of death, etc.) is at the root of many of life's problems, and is a major factor in many diseases. Take up the practice of meditation, yoga, tai chi, walks in the woods or prayer on a daily basis.
• You might also consider our new Yoga & Vision DVD.