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Health January 2015

Eat Right Now

In Your Eyes

By Wendell Fowler

Heaps of seniors have lived blissfully blinded to certain plant foods like yellow and orange produce and dark leafy greens which yield plant-based nutrients eager to minimize risk of AMD while improving vision.

Shakespeare and Di Vinci waxed poetic suggesting the eyes are windows to your soul; that you can see somebody's heart by focusing lovingly, deeply into their eyes, effortlessly surpassing any earthly panoramic landscape. Your eyes are nature's wonders, functioning like photo cameras, only substantially more complex. On a clear day, can you fully absorb an awe-inspiring vista, or able to see the loving energy radiating from someone's soul?

You see, each of your temple's organs have specific nutritional essentials that must be respected to function as the Divine intended. Our compassionate creator fashioned us to express perfect health and wholeness, not to become malnourished – an unfortunate tragedy in today's bar-coded population. Are age-related vision difficulties making your brown eyes blue? Have you consistently nourished your “soulular” window?

It's widely accepted the bedrock of most eye diseases is genetics, damage from sun rays and eating nutritionally inferior food –  starving the eye of nature's sustaining, divine sustenance. It's my humble layman perspective, if all of us hadn't been encouraged to eat nutritionally bankrupt iceberg lettuce and instead, consumed dark leafy greens and yellow / orange vegetables cruising from infancy into adulthood, there'd significantly less age-related macular disease (AMD). Alas, a nation trusted biased commodity brokers and bankers to be their nutritionists and obediently embraced iceberg salads whose leaves contain much less nourishment.

Innocently starved the windows to your soul? It's never too late to properly feed your trillions of cells, my friends.

Heaps of seniors have lived blissfully blinded to certain plant foods like yellow and orange produce and dark leafy greens which yield plant-based nutrients eager to minimize risk of AMD while improving vision.

Romaine as opposed to iceberg lettuce contains a complete protein containing all essential amino acids, iron, molybdenum, potassium and B vitamins and fiber. Kale, riding a wave of popularity, packs a colossal punch of vitamins K, A (the good stuff), C, calcium, folate and potassium. Greens such as collards, turnip and mustard greens have undergone a popularity renaissance with similar benefits. A good rule of thumb: the nutritional value increases as the green in the leaves gets darker, making iceberg easy to identify as the least helpful.

Powerful antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin in certain colorful vegetables belong to the group of carotenoids called xanthophylls. Regular consumption may decrease the incidence of AMD, says the American Optometric Association. These antioxidants help maintain macula health according to the American Macular Degeneration Foundation. Studies in American Journal of Epidemiology, Ophthalmology and Archives of Ophthalmology found higher levels of lutein and zeaxanthin in your temple's diet are associated with a lower incidence of AMD. Why? One cup of iceberg lettuce has 152 micrograms of lutein and zeaxanthin, whereas one cup of romaine contains a whopping 1,087 micrograms of lutein and zeaxanthin. That's seven times. Cooked spinach contains both lutein and zeaxanthin. WebMD says carrots, milk, cheese, egg yolk, and liver, all rich in vitamin A, are especially vital for good vision.

What a privilege to be the sole architect of your health. Don't hasten AMD. If you already experience vision loss, blurred vision or flashes of light, obviously seek medical guidance. It can benefit in all ways to increase consumption of all greens. (Not Al Green) If you take blood-thinner, consult with your phlebotomist. If they warn you not to eat green veggies, find a new doctor. You can adjust with professional help. I do.

FYI: My favorite dark leafy green salad? The Honeymoon Salad: lettuce alone with no dressing. What's yours?

 

Chef Wendell hosts Eat Right Now on WISH TV 8 CBS Indianapolis. He can be reached at 317-372-2592 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Visit his website at Chefwendell.com.

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