Carrot Juice and Eyesight.

MACULAR DEGENERATION AND OPTIMUM NUTRITION

Reading about this now may help you be able to read other things later.
If there ever was a clear example of an ounce of prevention beating a pound of cure, it would be macular degeneration. "Macula" means "spot," which in this case is on the retina. This is where visual images are focused on the inside of the back of the eye. A lack of antioxidants in the diet puts the retina at risk, causing premature aging and deterioration. Therefore, consuming generous amounts of the body's principle protective antioxidants, namely vitamins C and E, the carotenes, and small amounts of the mineral, selenium, will help protect your sight. Start now, for macular degeneration is the number one cause of vision loss in the elderly.
If you have already been diagnosed with the condition, your doctor has probably told you that there is no medical treatment to rely on. If so, then there is no reason not to try nutrition. If antioxidants can prevent macular degeneration, larger amounts of them may help reverse it.
The theory is easy enough to test, and safe enough to trust. There are no toxic levels whatsoever for Vitamins E and C and carotene. Too much Vitamin C is indicated by very loose bowels. Excessive carotene, which is the orange color in carrots, is indicated by orange colored skin. So if you look like a pumpkin stuck in the outhouse, take less. Ah, but if you don't, then you can take more.
Vitamin E is so safe that premature babies are specifically given it to prevent oxygen damage to their retinas. These infants require about 200 International Units a day to be effective. That is the adult dose equivalent of about 7,000 I.U. of Vitamin E daily! Little clinical need has ever existed in adults for even half of that amount. However, the US RDA of vitamin E is only 10 - 15 I.U., and that is not enough to stop macular degeneration in a hamster. Between 600 and 1,200 I.U. daily is a common therapeutic level for a person. It is only possible to obtain such amounts by taking a supplement.
Selenium increases the effectiveness of Vitamin E in the body. Only a little selenium is needed, probably between 50 and 200 micrograms daily. Too much selenium can indeed be toxic, and amounts over 600 mcg daily must be avoided.
Zinc is another important mineral for the retina. Up to 660 milligrams of zinc a day has been used in some studies, but there is an eventual risk of copper deficiency and anemia if such a high level were maintained. Just one-fifth of that amount, about 100 mg per day, may be enough to slow or stop the process of macular degeneration. The amino acid chelate form of zinc is very well absorbed and probably good to look for. That, or eat a lot of mollusks (oysters in particular).
Zinc deficiency in America is the rule, not the exception. Most of us don't even consume the small US RDA of 15 mg per day. Zinc deficiency is especially prevalent in older persons. The signs of too little zinc in the diet are, curiously enough, a weak immune system, poor wound healing, loss of taste and smell, psoriasis-like skin lesions, prostate problems, rheumatoid arthritis, and senility. Have you visited a nursing home recently? The idea of zinc supplementation certainly hasn't.
Instead of beta carotene supplements, I would prefer carrot juice. Yes, it contains a great deal of beta carotene: probably 40,000 I.U. or more per average glass. But it also contains dozens of other carotenes, not just the beta form. Freshly made from your own juicer, raw carrot juice tastes good and provides many other valuable nutrients. All health nuts drink carrot juice, so you are in good company.
Even a single carrot a day reduces a person's risk of macular degeneration by 40 percent. Evidence suggests that more is indeed better.
We've all known since we were toddlers that "carrots are good for our eyes." What's weird is that nearly one in four of us doesn't even eat a single serving a day of any vegetable. That alone would account for most of the 10,000,000 cases of macular degeneration in this country.
In addition to carrots, really intense consumption of fresh, raw foods may help much more. I know of a person whose degeneration of the retina was very severe and sadly she had lost much of her sight. In desperation, she began a nearly 100% raw food diet. She ate mostly salads and a jar or two of home-grown sprouts a day. I won't say that
she loved doing it, but she loved the results. Over a period of a year or so, her ophthalmologist confirmed improvement. Not only was she no longer losing her sight, she was actually gaining it back. Her recovery was remarkable and, medically speaking, impossible. A blind man was once belittled for claiming he got his sight back. The man said, "One thing I know, that though I was blind, now I see." (John 9:25, RSV)
That is what matters.
REFERENCES AND RELATED READING:
Carper, Jean Food: Your Miracle Medicine, Harper Collins, 1993, pages 438-439.
Cheraskin and Ringsdorf, Psycho dietetics, Bantam, 1974
Hoffer and Walker, Orthomolecular Nutrition, Keats, 1978
Copyright C 1999 and prior years Andrew W. Saul. From the books QUACK DOCTOR and PAPERBACK CLINIC, available from Dr. Andrew Saul, Number 8 Van Buren Street, Holley, New York 14470.