My name's Dr. Alan Watson. I'm an ophthalmologist, in St. Joseph, Missouri, and we're here today to talk about eye problems. Natural herbs and vitamins that are good for the eyes. The retina in the back of the eye is one of the most sensitive organs in the human body. The way the eye works is the light which is photons of energy impart onto the retina, and the rods and the cones absorb those photons, and they actually stimulate a nerve cell to fire within the eye, a ganglion nerve cell fires, and that sends electrical stimulation back through the optic nerve to a relay center the center of the brain. In the process of converting light over to an electrical signal frequently there are free radicals elaborated, and these free radicals are somewhat toxic to the back of the eye and they will generally accumulate in some people, especially blue eyed individuals, and create over time drusen to form in the back of the eye. So, antioxidants for people that are prone towards macular degeneration are helpful, and they've been shown to slow the progression of macular degeneration. Antioxidant materials such as vitamin E are helpful in the prevention of macular degeneration. There's pigments in vegetable material such as lutein which is seen in vegetables such as tomatoes, and colorful vegetables such as that, and that has been shown to be helpful in preventing the progression of macular degeneration. Vitamin A is necessary for good vision. Vegetables that can have a high content of vitamin A are helpful. Liver and some meats have high vitamin A content. And so, frequently, even patients with macular degeneration we have on a multivitamin plus lutein, plus some of these other chemicals that have been shown good to be for circulation, such as reservatrol which is seen in grapes and red wine. Grape seed extract has some reservatrol within it, and those things are frequently helpful for those individuals, also. This has been Dr. Alan Watson, Ophthalmologist, at St. Joseph, Missouri, discussing different eye problems, and the treatment of different eye problems with you.
More Photos
