If you have cataracts, be grateful that you were born in the 20th century. Very grateful.
Back in early Rome, physicians stuck hollow needles into their patients’ eyes, broke up the cataract-clouded lenses, and sucked them out. In ancient India, healers performed a procedure known as couching, in which they pushed the lenses deeper into the eyeballs, out of the line of vision. Ancient physicians in Greece, Iraq, and Egypt also did surgeries to either move or remove clouded lenses.
Anesthesia was not invented until the mid-1800s, however, so one can only imagine the agony that cataract surgery patients endured back then while being held immobile by strong physicians’ attendants. And without a replacement lens to focus light on the retina, any vision restored by those early surgeries would have been blurry at best. Perhaps enough to sidestep a speeding chariot or enjoy the colors of a spring garden.
These days, cataract surgeries successfully restore vision to millions of people each year. Once the clouded lenses are painlessly removed, surgeons stitch new plastic lenses in place, in most cases completely restoring normal vision.
Modern cataract surgery is so successful, in fact, that it has actually had a somewhat dampening effect on research, says Robert Anderson, MD, author of Clinician’s Guide to Holistic Medicine.
What kind of research? For years, studies looking at the role that nutrients might play in preventing and holding back the progression of cataracts have shown mixed results, says Dr. Anderson. Researchers know, for example, that oxidation plays a role in the formation of cataracts and that eating antioxidant-rich foods seems to prevent the formation of cataracts.
But the definitive answers about which foods and nutrient supplements work best, and exactly how much of which nutrients are helpful, have yet to be ascertained. The large Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS), done by the National Eye Institute, for example, lasted 10 years and involved more than 3,500 participants. The results, which were released in 2001, showed that antioxidant nutrients do significantly reduce the risk of advanced macular degeneration, another age-related eye disease.
The AREDS study produced an actual formula of nutrients for people with macular degeneration. But the results did not show any benefit from these nutrients for cataracts. The researchers did not conclude that the nutrients were of no benefit, however. They simply suggested that more study was needed.
On the other hand, if you’ve been diagnosed with cataracts, solid evidence from other studies done around the world points to several specific nutrients and a number of things you might want to try after you get your doctor’s okay. But first, let’s look at what happens in the eye when an individual gets cataracts.
The natural lenses of the eyes, which serve to focus light through the eyeball and back onto the light-sensitive cells of the retina, are composed of crystal clear proteins. With age, the proteins that form the lenses become damaged by free radicals and can become opaque.
Free radicals are highly reactive oxygen molecules. While free radicals occur naturally as a result of metabolism, their numbers are dramatically increased when we’re exposed to toxins. That’s why people who smoke are much more likely to develop cataracts as they age. “You get cataracts 7 to 10 years earlier if you smoke,” says Dr. Anderson.
Cataracts don’t just descend overnight like a curtain going down on a play. Once the lenses begin to get cloudy, they darken over a period of years, gradually diminishing the amount of light that gets through to the retina. An individual who does not have corrective surgery eventually becomes blind. Worldwide, cataracts are the leading cause of blindness.
What you eat seems to play a significant role in whether you’ll ever develop cataracts and also, if you do, in how fast they’ll progress, says Dr. Anderson.
With the right nutrients, it’s possible that you may be able to hold off on having cataract surgery. No one can say for sure for how long. But we’re talking nutrients here, not expensive drugs with dubious side effects. Where’s the downside?
Numerous population studies through the years have shown that people who eat lots of fruits and vegetables are far less likely to get cataracts and, if they do, they will likely get them much later in life. So here’s yet another reason to make sure that you put a rainbow of colorful fresh foods on your plate every day. In general, says Dr. Anderson, it’s a good idea to favor a diet that is also rich in whole grains, nuts, and seeds, and to give special attention to green vegetables.
It’s also wise to take a multivitamin to make sure that you’re getting everything you need, says Dr. Anderson. Most people in our society should take a multi, he says, as so few of us get all the nutrients that we need, in the proper amounts, on a daily basis.
In addition, there are several individual nutrients that might prove helpful.
All of the B vitamins participate in several hundred biochemical reactions in the body, several of which have to do with the eyes, says Dr. Anderson. Three of the B vitamins are particularly important for the eyes, he notes. These are riboflavin, pyridoxine, and folic acid. You can get these in balanced amounts in a B-complex supplement. Follow the directions on the package.
One Spanish study published in 2006 showed that the nutrients lutein and zeaxanthin help protect the eyes against the development of cataracts. Several earlier studies also pointed to these nutrients as being helpful for age-related eye diseases; and interestingly enough, the National Eye Institute has now included both of these in its ongoing research on nutrients helpful for age-related eye diseases.
Lutein and zeaxanthin are carotenoids, just two of the many healthful orange and yellow pigments found in fruits and vegetables. The best food sources for these carotenoids, according to Dr. Anderson, are red peppers, okra, parsley, dill, celery, blackberries, carrots, tomatoes, corn, egg yolks, paprika, and green, leafy vegetables. While many of these foods are not orange and yellow, those pigments are still there, just masked by other healthful pigments.
In addition to adding colorful fruits and vegetables to your diet, Dr. Anderson recommends taking a mixed carotenoid supplement. Follow the directions on the label.
Quercetin is a bioflavonoid that seems particularly helpful for dealing with cataracts, says Dr. Anderson. He suggests taking 400 milligrams three times a day.
Numerous studies through the years have shown that getting more antioxidant vitamins, particularly vitamin C, prevents cataracts. And those studies continue. For example, a 2007 Japanese population study that looked at more than 35,000 people over a 5-year period showed that people who got more vitamin C in their diets were less likely to get cataracts.
Vitamin C is probably the best antioxidant vitamin for dealing with cataracts, says Dr. Anderson. One 1997 study, he says, showed benefits at just 1,000 milligrams a day.
For people who have cataracts, Dr. Anderson suggests supplementing at much higher amounts, to “bowel tolerance.” High doses of vitamin C cause diarrhea. Dr. Anderson suggests taking enough vitamin C, spaced throughout the day, until it gives you gas, then backing off on the daily dose until that effect goes away. For most people, that amount can range anywhere from 4 to 10 grams of vitamin C. You might try starting with 1,000 milligrams a day, then gradually increasing the dose. (In the Colds and Flu chapter, Robert Ivker, DO, suggests a similar dose for preventing these infectious diseases, so there’s a potential added benefit.)
Most studies show that the best antioxidant benefits come when vitamins C and E are given together, notes Dr Anderson. One study showed good results for cataracts at 400 to 600 IU of vitamin E daily, he says.
If you have cataracts, make sure that your ophthalmologist (eye doctor) monitors the condition of your eyes regularly. Discuss any supplements you wish to take with your doctor. And consider taking a multivitamin to be sure that all your nutritional bases are covered.
B-complex |
Follow the package directions. |
Mixed carotenoids |
Follow the package directions. |
Quercetin |
400 milligrams three times a day |
Vitamin C* |
1 to 10 grams |
Vitamin E† |
400 to 600 IU |
*The higher range is a lot of vitamin C. If higher doses give you diarrhea, back off on the amount.
†Vitamin E has a blood-thinning effect. If you’re taking any kind of blood-thinning drug, talk to your doctor before beginning vitamin E supplementation.