Healthy Liver Healthy Vision

The liver is called “liver” because it is a reflection of how well you have lived—essentially, your lifestyle. The liver is your main body organ responsible for distributing and maintaining your body’s “fuel” supply, which is the raw material for your overall health, especially your vision health.

According to Chinese medicine, the eyes are “the windows” of your internal health, especially that of your liver: constant redness in the white of the eyes (dysfunctional circulatory and respiratory system); yellowish skin under the eyes (overactive liver and gallbladder); water-containing bags under the lower eyelids (congested digestive and excretory systems); and lack of luster (congested liver).

Therefore, the liver plays a pivotal role in your healthy vision. The liver serves several important functions in your body that may directly or indirectly affect your vision health:

The liver turns glucose (blood sugar) into glycogen (energy) for storage in your liver. Your glycogen controls the amount of glucose released into your bloodstream, thereby maintaining your blood sugar level. A healthy blood sugar levels prevents the development of diabetes, which may ultimately impair vision.

Your liver regulates your carbohydrate metabolism, which plays an important role in weight control. The liver is a fat-burning organ: it not only burns fat but also pumps excess fat out of your body system. Your liver controls your body weight. Too much fat in the abdominal area may impair your fat metabolism, turning your liver into a “fatty liver” which then becomes a fat-storing organ. A “fatty liver” is an obstacle to any attempt at weight loss, which begins at the liver. If you are obese, you have a much higher risk of losing your eyesight, according to the Royal National Institute for the Blind. For example, too much body fat is one of the causes of diabetes; too much fat may cause oxidative damage to the eye 

The liver detoxifies your body by filtering out excessive waste and toxins in your body through the bile into the gut. For example, it deactivates alcohol, hormones, and medicinal drugs for better assimilation. Alcohol and certain pharmaceutical drugs have been implicated in vision loss

The liver stores glycogen, vitamins A and D, the B complex vitamins, iron and copper.

Apart from the brain, the liver is the most important body organ that affects your vision.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© 2018 by Stephen Lau

Ask Questions About Your Visiition

Life is all about asking questions, internalizing them in your mind, and finding appropriate answers to those questions asked. Asking questions is introspection, which is a process of self-reflection, without which there is no self-awareness and hence no personal growth and development. Asking questions is self-empowering wisdom.

If your vision has deteriorated over the years, ask yourself the questions why and how your vision may have deteriorated. Is it your diet, your lifestyle, or simply not taking care of your vision health, such as doing regular eye exercises? Your questions may trigger a set of mental answers, leading to actions or inactions based on the choices you are going to make from the answers you have obtained. It is the natural habit of the human mind to try to solve problems by making things happen.

According to Lao Tzu, knowing yourself is true wisdom.

“Knowing others is intelligence.

Knowing ourselves is true wisdom.

Overcoming others is strength.

Overcoming ourselves is true power.”

(Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 33)

“Who you are” determines where you are going, what you are going to do, and what kind of a person you are going to become for the rest of your life. Nobody can answer those questions for you. People can be your mentors or role models; they can provide you with a road map or even a compass; even your doctors may tell you to do this or that. But only you can decide where you are going to turn or make a detour, and this is where wisdom comes in. Only you have the answers to all the questions asked.

Vision plays a pivotal role in how you live your life because how you see the world around you becomes your perceptions, and they are the raw materials with which you weave the fabrics of your life. Click here to find out how to enhance your vision.

You also need wisdom to do the right things in your life. Tao wisdom is the essence in the art of living well, It is the profound wisdom of the ancient Chinese sage, Lao Tzu, the author of the immortal classic Tao Te Ching, one of the most translated works in world literature. The book has been popular for thousands of years due to its wisdom, which is simple but controversial, profound and yet intriguing. To fully understand it, you need to get all the essentials of Tao wisdom. Click here for more details.

Stephen Lau 

Copyright©2018 by Stephen Lau

Macular Degeneration Prevention and Treatment

Often called AMD or ARMD (age-related macular degeneration), macular degeneration is the leading cause of vision loss and blindness in Americans aged 65 and older.

AMD is a degenerative condition of the macula, the part of the retina responsible for the sharp, central vision needed to read or drive. Because AMD affects the macula, you may lose your central vision or reading vision.

The risk factors

The risk factors for macular degeneration are: age over 65 with risk increasing proportionately with age; a smoker with 2.5 times increased risk than a non-smoker; having blue eyes instead of brown eyes (blue eyes enabling the blue-violet sunrays to penetrate deeper into the eye tissues of the retina, and hence a greater chance of developing macular degeneration); a sun worshiper spending much time outdoors

Given that macular degeneration begins much earlier, from youth through the age of 30 years, deterioration accelerates as aging progresses.

The symptoms

Macular degeneration symptoms include the following: outlines of objects becoming blurry and wavy; straight lines becoming crooked; shapes of objects becoming indistinct and steamy; much slower reading speed; a prolonged period of time to adapt when going indoors from a bright outdoor environment; eye examination indicating many solar-aging spots on the retina

The treatment

There is little or no cure once the onset of macular degeneration begins. You can retard it, but there is no cure. Prevention is better than no cure. The key to retina health is to keep the retinal blood vessels open, to avoid buildup of cholesterol, blood clots, and calcification.

Laser treatment can arrest the fast-progressing form of macular degeneration, but does not improve vision or preserve eyesight. Therefore, prevention is always the best option.

Eye nutrition can protect the retina from further damage or deterioration.

Vitamins A, C, and E, and beta carotene, which is a precursor for vitamin A, can reduce the risk of developing macular degeneration. It is therefore important that as you grow older you need mega-doses of nutrients because of poor absorption due to inadequate digestive juices for digestion and absorption.

Zinc can retard the loss of protective melanin pigment of the retina against sunlight damage. In addition, zinc helps the release of vitamin A from the liver. Zinc is an important co-factor in getting vitamin A to the retina. However, it must be understood that zinc in excess of 25 milligrams may lead to deficiency of copper, elevation of LDL (bad cholesterol) levels, cholesterol imbalance—all these may cause further damage to the retina. Adequate zinc, but not too much, enhances the retina health.

Glutathione is another powerful antioxidant to protect retinal cells from ultra-violet-A and ultra-violet-B damage. Selenium and riboflavin stimulate the production of glutathione.

Omega-3 fats can improve vision. However, because they can also cause lipid peroxidation (that is, they turn rancid on exposure to sunlight), you need more antioxidants.

Nutrition should also include bioflavonoids, which are plant pigments with protective properties against sunlight damage. Foods that are rich in bioflavonoids include red onions, red grapes, cherries, and citrus fruits.

In short, your diet plays a pivotal role in retina health, and hence the prevention of macular degeneration.

In addition to diet, give up nicotine totally. Reduce your daily intake of caffeine—if you must drink coffee—because it not only interrupts with retinal blood flow but also increases blood pressure, which is bad for the retina.

Aspirin is a blood thinner. It may benefit blood vessel diseases and prevents blockages of oxygen to the brain. However, too much aspirin may also cause retinal bleeding, which impairs retinal health.

Macular degeneration is an eye disease that can be prevented—or at least deferred if you live a healthy lifestyle. Aging is not the cause of degeneration. Retinal disease is a result of accumulative damage to the retina due to neglect, or abuse, or both.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau