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Acupuncture & Natural Health Solutions Newsletter
Providing Natural Health Care for the Entire Family
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Issue #2016-3c
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7 Tips for Healthier Vision
Traditional Chinese Medicine believes that eye diseases are related to deficiencies in the liver and kidney organs and result from an imbalance in the body. There are many ways to improve eye health and prevent damage down the road. Finding the root of the problem and taking preventative measures is important when it comes to eye health. Below are simple ways for healthier vision.
Eat Right. Certain foods are great for eye health. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables has been known to improve eye health. Specifically, try adding in more spinach, kale or collard greens into your diet. Fish such as salmon, tuna and halibut are filled with omega-3 fatty acids, which are also great for eye health.
Give It A Rest. If you're like most working adults and spend hours on the computer every day, make sure you're taking breaks from screen time to reduce eye strain. The best strategy is the 20-20-20 rule. Every 20 minutes look 20 feet away from your computer for 20 seconds.
Protect Your Eyes. Protect your eyes just like you would your skin when in the sun. Make sure to wear sunglasses to protect your eyes from damaging UV rays. Make sure to find sunglasses that offer both UVA and UVB protection.
Quit Smoking. There are many health reasons to quit smoking. A lot of people aren't aware that smoking can expose your eyes to high levels of oxidative stress, which damages blood vessels. Smoking can increase your risk for many health problems that affect the eye. Contact your acupuncturist to discuss ways to quit.
Know Your Health History. Many eye problems can be genetic. See if family members have any eye conditions and make sure to get regular check ups if this is the case to help maintain healthy vision.
Take care of your contacts. It is easy to get into bad habits when it comes to contact wearing. Make sure to replace your contacts at the recommended time. Wash your hands before touching your contacts and take them out at night to give your eyes the rest and oxygen your eyes need.
Acupuncture. A number of studies found that acupuncture may have positive effects on people who suffer from chronic dry eye. One study showed that acupuncture could help reduce tear loss that those with dry eye usually experience. Other common eye problems that acupuncture can treat include glaucoma, cataracts, chronic dry eyes, macular degeneration, optic neuritis, and optic atrophy.
Source Links:
- Healthy Eyes.
- Eye Health Tips | National Eye Institute
- Acupuncture and Eye Health
- 9 Tips for Healthy Eyes, Healthy Vision
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Yoga for Eye Health
There are about 14 million Americans who are visually impaired. Some start to see vision problems from a young age, while others find that their vision has gotten worse as they get older. Yoga has been proven beneficial for the body in many ways, but one way you may not be aware of is helping improve eyesight naturally. Certain yoga eye exercises can help increase the function of the eyes and help decrease problems such as near-sightedness, far-sightedness and other eye disorders. Practicing these yoga techniques focuses on the defects in the eye muscles and can help prevent your eyes from getting worse.
Follow the steps below to get started:
Palming:
- Sit with your eyes closed, completely relaxed.
- Rub your hands together until they are warm and place them over your eyelids.
- Your eye muscles will relax with the warmth and darkness.
- Repeat the process at least three times, keeping your eyes closed during the entirety of the exercise.
Blinking:
- Blink 10 times as quickly as you can.
- Close your eyes for 20 seconds and relax.
Repeat again 5 times.
Sideways Viewing:
- Sit with your legs out straight in front of you.
- Lift the arms with your fists closed and thumbs pointing up.
- Look at a point straight in front of you and level to your eyes.
- While keeping your head in this position, focus on these different points: the space between the eyebrows, the left thumb, the space between the eyebrows, the right thumb, the space between the eyebrows, the left thumb.
- Repeat 15 times.
- Afterward, close your eyes to give them a rest.
Front and Sideways Viewing:
- Sit with your legs straight in front of you.
- Place the left closed fist on the left knee with your thumb pointing up.
- Look at a point straight in front of you and level with your eyes.
- Keep the head in this position while you breathe out, focus your eyes on the left thumb. Breath in and focus your eyes at the point in front of you that you started with.
- Repeat the same for the right thumb.
- Close your eyes to rest.
Rotational Viewing:
- Sit with legs straight in front of you.
- Place the left hand on the left knee.
- Hold the right fist above the right knee with the thumb pointing up, keep the elbow straight.
- While keeping the head still, focus eyes on the thumb.
- Make a circle with the thumb, keeping elbow straight.
- Repeat this five times in clockwise and counter-clockwise directions
- Repeat the exercise with the left thumb.
Close eyes and rest.
Up and Down Viewing:
- Sit with legs straight in front of you.
- Point both thumbs up, placing both fists on the knees.
- Raise the right thumb keeping the arms straight, follow your thumb up with your eyes.
- Lower down the thumb back to the original position, keeping head still and eyes on the thumb.
- Repeat 5 times with each the thumb while keeping the head and back straight.
- Close the eyes to relax.
Preliminary Nose Tip Gazing:
- Sit in a cross-legged position
- Raise the right arm directly in front of the nose.
- Make a fist with the right hand and keep your thumb pointing up.
- Focus eyes on the tip of the thumb.
- Bend the arms and bring thumb to the tip of the nose, while keeping eyes focused on the thumb.
- Start to straighten the arm, keeping eyes at the tip of the thumb.
- Repeat five times.
Near and Distant Viewing:
- Place yourself in an area with a view of the horizon.
- Focus on the horizon for 10 seconds.
- Focus on the tip of the nose for 10 seconds.
- Repeat 15 times.
- Close and relax the eyes.
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Recipe Corner
Braised Bok Choy & Cucumber
Brief cooking brings out the subtle flavor of cucumber, which combines with bok choy to make a refreshing vegetable dish. If you can't find baby bok choy, substitute Swiss chard, beet greens, or spinach.
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 Cucumbers, peeled and seeded
- 2 heads Baby bok Choy
- 1 ~ 2 teaspoons Oliver oil
- 2 Tablespoons water
- 3 Tablespoons Fresh Drill, chopped
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
PREPARATION:
- Peel and seed the cucumbers.
- Cut the cucumbers crosswise into ¼ inch-thick pieces.
- Slice the heads of the bok choy-leaves, stems, and all-crosswise into ½ inch pieces.
COOKING:
- In a large frying pan over medium-high heat add the Oliver oil and when hot add the cucumbers and sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add the bok choy and continue to cook for 2 more minutes.
- Increase heat to high and add the water.
- Add the dill, salt and pepper to taste, and reduce liquid.
Serve immediately.
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The information contained within the
newsletter is only used to educate
and inform. This newsletter is
not a substitute for the advice of a licensed
and registered health
care provider. Seek prompt attention for emergencies. Consult
a health care provider for specific health concerns, and before
starting a diet, cleanse or exercise routine.
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