Eating Healthy Has Critical Effect On Maintaining Healthy Eyesight

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- -Vision is the one sense that people fear the most of losing yet, it is the sense that a majority do take for granted¹. Most people know that eating healthy is good for their bodies to prevent diseases such as obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure, but many do not consider or realize it also has a great affect on their eye sight.

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Many health conditions of the eye can be prevented or helped by having a healthy diet. Recent studies suggest that caffeine may help eyes produce tears and improve dryness,^2,3 while eating a vegetarian diet lowered the risk of cataracts by 30%.⁴ Additionally, eating fruit may protect against the retinal problems that occur in diabetes⁴ and vitamin D consuming women had a 59% reduced risk of developing macular degeneration.^5,6

"One of the best things for people to do is to get regular eye examinations, even if they are not experiencing difficulties. Everyone should consider the start of school as a reminder to undergo an eye examination as they do with their children's eyes. It's an appointment that is critical to maintaining your overall health status." said Dr. Sandy T. Feldman of ClearView Eye & Laser Medical Center.  Summertime can also dry out your eyes so being aware of this and knowing how to prevent this falls right alongside, keeping an overall healthy daily balance with one's overall life" stated Dr. Feldman.

Dr. Sandy T. Feldman offers these healthy eating & summer care tips for individuals:

• Eat Vitamin D containing foods include milk, fish, fortified cereal or take supplements. Consume at least 18 micrograms per day.
• Make sure to consume a lot of dark green leafy vegetables which contain lutein and zeaxanthin.
• Reduce the amount of meat and consider, a vegetarian diet.
• Eating a diet rich in omega 3's and an intake in caffeine may help dryness
• Schedule regular eye examinations
• Find an eye doctor by looking up on the web: AAO.org, AOA.org

Dr. Sandy T. Feldman of ClearView Eye & Laser Medical Center, wants San Diegans to maintain their vision through healthy eating.

1. Vision Council of America, June 2006 Vision Watch Data
2. Schaumberg DA, Sullivan DA, Buring JE, Dana MR. Prevalence of dry eye syndrome among US women. Am J Ophthalmol. 2003;136:318-26. and Schaumberg DA, Dana R, Buring JE, Sullivan DA. Prevalence of dry eye disease among US men: estimates from the Physicians' Health Studies. Arch Ophthalmol. 2009;127:763-8
3. Arita R, Yanagi, , Honda N, et al, Caffeine Increases Tear Volume Depending on Polymorphisms within the Adenosine A2a Receptor Gene and Cytochrome P450 1A2. Ophthalmology, 2012; 119: 972-8.
4. Appleby, P. N. et al. Am J Clin Nutr 2011;93(5):1128–1135.
5. Tanka, et al, 72^nd Scientific Sessions of American Diabetes Association June 2012
6. Lee V et al, Vitamin D rejuvenates aging eyes by reducing inflammation, clearing beta amyloid and improving visual function. Neurobiology of Agin, 2012
7. Millen, Volden, Solodn, et al. Arch Ophthalmol. 2011;129(4):481-489

As a leader in the field of ophthalmology, Dr. Feldman has participated in FDA clinical studies of custom LASIK. Currently, she is involved in studies of a new treatment to halt the progression of keratoconus, a disease in which the fitting of contact lenses can become challenging. In 2009, she was one of ten laser eye care providers in the U.S. to receive the Goldline Award as seen Forbes Magazine. In 2010, she was awarded the Silver Elite RealSelf award, and in 2011, she was awarded Top Doc San Diego, inducted into the prestigious American College of Ophthalmic Surgeons and was one of nation's 15 leading laser eye surgeons as seen in Newsweek magazine. Dr. Feldman is a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.

Clearview Eye and Laser Medical Center
6255 Lusk Blvd, Suite 100, San Diego, CA 92121
858.452.3937
www.clearvieweyes.com

SOURCE Clearview Eye & Laser Medical Center