Category: Wellness

Does Your Back-to-School Checklist Include a Vision Screening?

Your child’s academic success depends on good vision.  The National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, estimates that only one in three preschoolers receives vision screening.  NEI also estimates that:

  • 300,000 to 750,000 children aged 3 to 5 have amblyopia (lazy eye)
  • 450,000 to 600,000 have strabismus (eye misalignment), and
  • 1.5 million to 2.3 million children have a significant refractive error (poor vision that can be corrected with glasses or contact lenses).

“We know that children who see well are better prepared to learn,” said Michael X. Repka, MD, secretary for federal affairs at the American Academy of Ophthalmology and professor of ophthalmology and pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University. “The eyes are directly connected to the brain, so if they are not functioning properly, it can be more difficult for a child to absorb information in the classroom. Most common eye disorders do not have warning signs and may lead to blindness in one or both eyes if left untreated. Early detection is the key to a successful outcome.”

The American Academy of Ophthalmology offers this schedule for pediatric vision screening:

  • Newborn to 3 months
  • 3 to 6 months
  • 6 to 12 months
  • 3 years
  • 5 years
  • Every 1 to 2 years after age 5 until age 18

In preparation for your vision screening, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents consider the following questions:

  • Does your child seem to see well? 
  • Does your child hold objects close to his or her face when trying to focus?
  • Do your child’s eyes appear straight or do they seem to cross or drift or seem lazy?
  • Do your child’s eyes appear unusual?
  • Do your child’s eyelids droop or does 1 eyelid tend to close?
  • Have your child’s eye(s) ever been injured?
  • Do you have a family history of eye disorders, or of early childhood use of glasses in parents or siblings?

Vision screenings can be performed as part of the child’s annual well-child exam.  In addition, many public school systems provide vision screenings for students.  Parents who do not have access to screenings can contact their local health department for support.

Sources: 
Ensure Your Back-to-School Checklist Includes a Vision Screening, American Academy of Ophthalmology

American Academy of Pediatrics, Eye Examination in Infants, Children, and Young Adults by Pediatricians

Pesticide Use Linked to Retinal Degeneration

Scientists have found an association between fungicide use and retinal degeneration in the wives of farmers who are pesticide applicators. Researchers had already found an association with retinal degeneration among the farmers themselves in the Agricultural Health Study, a large study of farm families from Iowa and North Carolina.

Researchers reviewed data from questionnaires given to 31,173 women from 1993 to 1997 to determine whether wives of these farmer pesticide applicators were at increased risk of retinal degeneration. This information was evaluation to determine associations of specific pesticides and groups of pesticides based on function (fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, and fumigants) or chemical structure (organophosphates, organochlorines, and carbamates) with eye disorders.

Their findings suggest that exposure to some fungicides and other pesticides may increase the risk of retinal degeneration; specific fungicides that appeared to drive this association were maneb or mancozeb and ziram.

Study authors noted that although these findings for retinal degeneration are based solely on self-reported disease, they are consistent with those reported for farmer pesticide applicators.

Learn more about macular degeneration at the Natural Eye Care website

SOURCE: Retinal Degeneration and Other Eye Disorders in Wives of Farmer Pesticide Applicators Enrolled in the Agricultural Health Study, Kirrane, et al, American Journal of Epidemiology 2005 161(11):1020-1029; doi:10.1093/aje/kwi140

Are the fruits and vegetables you eat contaminated with pesticides?

Individuals can lower their pesticide exposure by almost 80% by avoiding the top twelve most contaminated fruits and vegetables and eating the least contaminated instead.

Consumption of the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables will expose a person to about 10 pesticides per day, on average, compared with less than 2 pesticides per day in the least contaminated.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG), a non-profit organization, has published The Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides, which ranks pesticide contamination for 47 popular fruits and vegetables based on an analysis of 87,000 tests for pesticides on these foods, conducted from 2000 to 2007 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration.

The twelve most contaminated, starting with the highest pesticide load:
1. peaches
2. apple
3. sweet bell pepper
4. celery
5. nectarine
6. strawberries
7. cherries
8. kale
9. lettuce
10. grapes – imported
11. carrot
12. pear

The twelve least contaminated, starting with the lowest pesticide load:
1. onion
2. avocado
3. sweet corn – frozen
4. pineapple
5. mango
6. asparagus
7. sweet pea – frozen
8. kiwi
9. cabbage
10. eggplant
11. papaya
12. watermelon

The EWG used six measures of contamination, and crops were ranked based on a composite score from all categories. These measures were:

• Percent of the samples tested with detectable pesticides
• Percent of the samples with two or more pesticides
• Average number of pesticides found on a sample
• Average amount (level in parts per million) of all pesticides found
• Maximum number of pesticides found on a single sample
• Number of pesticides found on the commodity in total

Pesticides have adverse effects on the nervous system and hormones. They have been shown to have carcinogenic effects, and to cause skin, eye and lung irritation. The Guide does not present a complex assessment of pesticide risks, but instead simply reflects the overall load of pesticides found on commonly eaten fruits and vegetables.

How can you avoid consumption of pesticides? Choose to purchase produce low in pesticides and buy organically-raised fruits and vegetables as frequently as possible.

SOURCE: Environmental Working Group, Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides,
http://www.foodnews.org/methodology.php

Statin Drugs May Cause Eye Disorders in Some

Eye disorders related to statins are rare, occurring in about 0.1 percent of patients (0.5 to 2.5 percent when gemfibrozil, another type of cholesterol-lowering drug, is taken simultaneously) but had not been systematically reported prior to the study led by F.W. Fraunfelder, MD, of the Casey Eye Institute at Oregon Health and Science University. The research appears in the December issue of Ophthamology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthamology.]

Fraunfelder’s group analyzed statin-associated reports of double vision (diplopia), drooping of the upper eyelid (ptosis), and loss of full range of motion of the eyes (ophthalmoplegia) in the databases of the National Registry of Drug-Induced Ocular Side Effects, the World Health Organization, and the Food and Drug Administration. Since statins were known to cause
skeletal muscle disorders in some patients, a similar affect was plausible in the eye muscles. The average patient age was 64.5 years, and the case reports included 143 males, 91 females, and 22 persons with gender unspecified. The average statin dose of patients who exhibited one or more eye disorder was within ranges recommended by drug manufacturers, and the average
time from beginning of therapy to developing an adverse drug reaction (ADR) was 8.3 months. There were 23 cases of loss of eye range of motion; 8 cases of ptosis, and 18 cases of ptosis in conjunction with double vision; disorders in all patients apparently resolved completely when statins were discontinued. From the ADR reports, the researchers could not determine
precisely which eye muscles were involved, or time needed to full recovery after statin discontinuation, for individual cases.

Learn more about drugs that can harm vision.

Juicing Tips – What combinations of fruits & vegetables would be best to juice?

Overview | Enzymes | Recipes

Juicing Tips

We consider daily juicing of primarily organic vegetables and fruits to be an essential part of any long term healing program. Juicing provides a highly effective and efficient way for the body to be able to absorb essential nutrients into the blood and cells, taking a little as a few minutes for the body to start utilizing these nutrients.

Why is juicing so important?

    1. What are enzymes? The basic key to the efficacy of nourishing your body is the life present in food and of those intangible elements known as enzymes.  
    2. Why not just eat fruits and vegetables for our essential nutrients? Solid food requires many hours of digestive activity before its nourishment is finally available to the cells and tissues of the body. 
    3. Can juicing prevent disease? Many studies point out that a diet high in fruits and vegetables does in fact reduce the incidents of serious disease.
    4. Do vegetables contain protein? Although fruits and vegetables do not contain large quantities of protein, their juice can be a convenient carrier.
    5. What are phytochemicals? They are substances in plants that are linked to good health and to prevention of specific diseases. They are found only in fruits and vegetables, and juicing is a great way to get them.
    6. How much juice can be taken safely? As much as one can drink comfortably without forcing oneself. Recommended amount of juice per day is at least 1 pint per day. Some healing centers actually do 2-8 pints per day for therapeutic purposes.
    7. Can I store the juice I make? Juices should generally be drunk when prepared, since certain enzymes and vitamins break down pretty quickly in sunlight.
    8. What combinations of fruits and vegetables would be best to juice? There are many different recipes  See more info …, but in general at least 50-75% of the juicing should consist of greens (spinach, kale, chard, parsley, dandelion, watercress, broccoli, etc.)
    9. Can I still continue to eat fast food and sugar products? These should be kept to an absolute minimum as they use our precious resources to breakdown and digest, offering little in the way of healthy nutrients.
    10. Should I use only organic products? In general, yes. By juicing all non-organic products, we stand the chance of taking in concentrated amounts of pesticides used on the plants, thereby negating the value of daily juicing.
    11. What juicer should I use? There are a number of excellent juicers.  We like the pulp extracting omega juicers that juice without generating heat that can destroy some of the essential nutrients. At 80 RPM (most juicers work at 3600 RPM and higher), it essentially masticates the fruits and vegetables slowly, preserving the most nutrients possible. The disadvantage is that the process is a little slower, and cleaning takes a couple of more minutes.

What are enzymes?

The basic key to the efficacy of nourishing your body is the life present in food and of those intangible elements known as enzymes. Enzymes are complex substances that enable us to digest food and absorb it into our blood. They are the body’s ‘working force’ that act as catalysts for many essential life functions, such as separating the nitrogen from the air we breath, so we may absorb the oxygen. They act as catalysts in probably millions of chemical reactions that take place throughout the body. They are essential for the digestion and absorption of the food we eat and drink … for conversion of food to body tissue, and for the production of energy at the cellular level.

Enzymes become sluggish at cooking temperatures above 118 degrees, and are destroyed at temperatures above 130 degrees (microwaves completely destroy enzymes in your food).
Fresh juices are a wonderful source of enzymes. Food which has been cooked at temperatures above 118 simply don’t have the properly functioning enzymes to allow you to enjoy the full benefits of their nutrients.

Why not just eat fruits and vegetables for our essential nutrients?

Solid food requires many hours of digestive activity before its nourishment is finally available to the cells and tissues of the body. While fibers in foods are essential for helping cleanse our digestive tract, the removal of fibers in the extraction of juices allows essential nutrients to be absorbed within minutes instead of hours, and with little effort by our body.

Do vegetables contain protein?

Although fruits and vegetables do not contain large quantities of protein, their juice can be a convenient carrier. Simply add some brewer’s yeast, wheat germ, or whole grains to whatever you’re juicing. These give you protein without the fat that meat contains, and protein that is quickly and easily absorbed by the body.

What to Juice?

There are many different recipes but in general at least 50-75% of the juicing should consist of greens: spinach, kale, chard, parsley, dandelion, watercress, broccoli, etc.

Sample Juicing Recipes for Specific Eye Conditions

Cataracts, Conjunctivitis
We recommend carrot, spinach, celery, endive, parsley, blueberry, apple – not too much fruit.

Glaucoma
We recommend celery, carrots, cucumber, radish, turnip, parsley, beets, cabbage, raspberries, plums, apple (not too much fruit).

Macular Degeneration
We recommend broccoli, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, apples, raspberries, leafy greens

Best’s Disease

We recommend daily juicing of vegetables and fruits (preferably organic) – some combination of the following: ginger, garlic, leeks, parsley, beets, cabbage, carrots, celery, spinach, apples, grapes, raspberries, lemon, chlorophyll, wheat grasses (not too much fruit). See the discussion of best’s disease for other points

Optic Neuritis

We recommend: ginger, parsley, beets, cabbage, carrots, endive, chlorophyll, wheat grasses, berries (all organic preferably)

Other Conditions

Peptic Ulcers – cabbage juice promotes rapid healing of patients with peptic ulcers

Urinary Tract Infections – cranberry juice is well known to help with bladder and urinary tract infections

Heart Disease – also well known is the beneficial effect of pomegranate juice. Antioxidants (compounds that limit cell damage by fighting free radicals) contained in pomegranate juice may help reduce the formation of fatty deposits on artery walls. The antioxidant level in pomegranate juice was found to be higher than that in other natural juices, such as blueberry, cranberry, and orange juices.

Resources
N.W. Walker, D.Sc. “Fresh Vegetable and Fruit Juices: what’s missing in your body?”
Michael T. Murray, N.D. “The Complete Book of Juicing”

Paul Pitchford, N.D. “Healing with Whole Foods”

Research on peptic ulcers & cabbage juice
Research on UTI & cranberry juice