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August 3, 2011

Focus on These Foods to Help Protect Your Eyes

August 3, 2011

Did you know that age-related macular degeneration, aka AMD, is the leading cause of vision loss as you get older? Do you have friends or family members who are losing their vision?

Perhaps they’ve been diagnosed with AMD, which affects the central vision and results in significant vision loss or even blindness. Spots, referred to as blind spots, cloud this central vision making it very difficult to see faces clearly, read and drive. And don’t miss this. If you have a family history of AMD, are female or white…all three increase your risk.

What if you can add certain foods to your diet NOW to help prevent AMD down the road? Data from the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (known as AREDS) reported in the May 2009 issue of the journal Ophthalmology found that participants whose diets were high in certain nutrients including vitamin E and C, zinc, lutein, zeaxanthin, and omega-3 fats had the lowest risks of age-related macular degeneration.

Other studies suggest that a diet consisting of more low-glycemic foods (vegetables, fruits, beans, lentils and whole grains as examples) and less high glycemic foods such as candy, desserts, and sweetened drinks results in a lower risk for AMD.

In case you’re wondering how refined or processed foods, which are typically high on the glycemic index affect vision, here is what scientists currently believe. High-GI foods cause a rapid increase and decline in blood glucose levels as opposed to low-GI foods that raise blood glucose more slowly.

The rapid rise in blood glucose may damage the macula or part of the retina, which provides detailed central vision. The good news is that the certain nutrients just mentioned above seem to help protect your eyes from AMD.

Consider making these foods a staple in your diet.

  1. Citrus fruits, kiwi, berries, potatoes, tomatoes: Vitamin C
  2. Nuts (walnuts have fats that convert to omega-3s in the body): Zinc, Vitamin E and healthy fats 
  3. Red meat, poultry, beans, nuts, seafood (such as crab and lobster), whole grains, fortified breakfast cereals, and dairy products: zinc
  4. Dark green leafy veggies such as broccoli, spinach, kale plus yellow foods such as corn and egg yolks: carotenoids: lutein
     and zeaxanthin.
  5. Cold-water fish like salmon or canned tuna: omega-3 fats

For more information on eye health, check out the National Eye Institute http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/maculardegen/index.asp.

The good news is that all the foods mentioned above are not only beneficial for eye health but for your total body health.

Want more? Listen to this week’s podcast below.

Listen to this week’s podcast


February 24, 2011

Inflammation and Your Diet

Inflammation can be good thing or a not so good thing. Inflammation is not so good when it becomes chronic or on-going inflammation in your body. This type of inflammation, which is invisible to the eye, gets all the attention because it’s been implicated in the etiology or cause of many common diseases from heart disease and autoimmune illness like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis to some cancers, diabetes, and even stroke.

Can you do anything about inflammation in the body? Does what you eat potentially make inflammation worse or can it help lower inflammation or inflammatory markers such as CRP?

Is there an anti-inflammation diet? You may hear it called by numerous names or book titles but most of these diets are based on research behind the Mediterranean Diet.

What to do:

1. Decide to eat more fruits and vegetables each day. Why? The antioxidants they contain such as vitamins A, C and E along with all the naturally-occurring healthful plant compounds called phytonutrients seem to ramp down the inflammation process in the body. For example, the Agricultural Research Service has conducted studies on Bing cherries and found that regular consumption of Bing cherries lowered the markers of inflammation in the body including CRP.

2. Consume more fish, especially fatty fish that contain omega-3 fats part of the polyunsaturated and healthier fat family and thought to counteract inflammation. There are three types of omega-3 fats, which include DHA, EPA and ALA. DHA and EPA are found in the highest amounts in fatty seafood such as tuna, salmon and sardines. ALA is found in plant sources only such as walnuts, pumpkin seeds, flaxseeds, and kale.

3. Eat more whole grains and other high fiber foods such as beans, peas, and lentils. Eat fewer processed or refined foods that are full of empty calories or zero nutrition such as cookies, cakes, chips, soft drinks, pastries and other sweets. Processed or highly refined foods can make your blood sugar level spike, which has also been tied to inflammation.

4. Add nuts and avocados to the diet: these are good sources of the healthy fat, monounsaturated, which appear to be anti-inflammatory. All types of nuts count.

A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association looked at the effect of a Mediterranean diet on inflammation in the body, particularly in people with metabolic syndrome. Do you remember the term metabolic syndrome?

It’s a bundle of medical issues that includes excess weight around your belly (apple shape, muffin top), elevated total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein or LDL levels, high blood pressure and high blood sugar levels. What is the link between inflammation and metabolic syndrome? It’s a syndrome that is tied to a pro-inflammatory state in your body…this chronic inflammation we’ve been talking about.

This study and others have found that a Mediterranean diet that includes healthy oils, nuts, fish and lots of fruits, veggies and grains decreased the level of an inflammation marker in the blood known as C-reactive protein or CRP for short and reduced the level of inflammation in the body.

Bonus! Switching to and consuming foods that are part of the Mediterranean diet often results in weight loss, which also lowers markers of inflammation in the body…a very good thing.

Want more? Listen to this week’s podcast below.

Listen to this week’s podcast


February 25, 2009

Omega-3s: Three food label tips that might surprise you

omega-3Have you noticed that omega-3s seem to be added to all types of food such as eggs, oj, milk, cereal and yogurt? When you read the label it can be confusing. What is the source of the omega-3s and how much is in the product? Here’s what you need to know to be a label sleuth.

There are three types of omega-3 fats which include DHA, EPA and ALA. The majority of omega-3 research looks at the health benefits of DHA and EPA which are found in the highest amounts in fatty seafood such as tuna, salmon and sardines. The suggested intake for these two omega-3s combined is about 650 milligrams per day (DHA + EPA) but this amount varies significantly depending on health issues you may have such as heart disease. DHA is also found in marine algae and this source of DHA is often added to food products.

ALA is found in plant sources only such as walnuts, pumpkin seeds, flaxseeds, kale and small amounts in soybean and canola oil. ALA must convert in the body to EPA and DHA and the conversion rate is only about 10%. This means that if you have a serving of a food which contains 100 milligrams of omega-3s from an ALA plant source, after the 10% conversion you end up with 10 milligrams of EPA and DHA…the form that the body uses. You can see it takes a lot more ALA.

If you are buying omega-3 fortified foods, meaning that omega-3s have been added to the product, they are likely in the form of ALA or maybe marine algae (DHA) or a combo of both such as flax and marine algae. So, if the product you are about to buy says it contains 300 milligrams of omega-3s per serving, flip it around and read the ingredient label.

What is the source of omega-3s? If it’s flax, walnuts or any of the other plant food items just mentioned, remember that you are only going to derive about 10% as usable DHA and EPA or 30 milligrams. If a product doesn’t tell you which omega-3s are added, assume it to be a plant ALA source.

blue-ceanIf you’re a fish eater, two servings a week is an easy way to get DHA & EPA. In these lean economic times, fish doesn’t have to blow your budget either. Canned salmon, light tuna and sardines all work just fine. You might be saying to me…what about the mercury in fish? The PCBs? Try this tech tip courtesy of blueocean.org. You can send a text and make sure the fish you purchase is eco-friendly and without a health advisory. Send a text to 30644 with the message FISH followed by the name of the fish you want to buy…for example, FISH SCALLOPS or FISH SALMON.

I sent a text for FISH SALMON and received two texts within a few seconds. The first text had a red flag saying that farmed salmon has significant environmental concerns with a health advisory for potentials PCBs and pesticides. The second text with a green flag indicating a better choice said that wild Alaska salmon has very few environmental concerns. The Blue Ocean Institute tracks 90+ fish species and regularly updates their database. You can check out their website at http://www.blueocean.org.


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