Dr. Grossman’s Blog

Many people come in to the office concerned about eye floaters.  A lot of patients have probably been told that there is nothing that can be done about these annoying speck and streaks that move across the field of vision, but you can take steps to reduce and prevent eye floaters.

Here is some dietary advice I offer my patients.  For more tips on how to reduce and eliminate floaters please visit our website.

• Eat brown rice and other whole grains instead of refined and processed grains (such as white bread and pasta).
• Use unsulfered molasses and fruit juices for sweetening instead of white sugar, chocolate, or honey.
• Drink rice, almond, or soy milk, herb tea or unsweetened, diluted fruit juices instead of coffee, tea, alcohol, or dairy drinks.
• Steam or bake foods instead of frying them.
• Eat lots of vegetables, but avoid the nightshade family (e.g., tomatoes, green peppers, white potatoes and eggplant).
• Minimize your use of salt.

To see a video about what floaters are, click here.

Image via www.ncagr.gov

In our practice we are great proponents of juicing and its many health benefits. One veggie that is in many of the recipes that we recommend for specific eye conditions such as diabetic retinopathy and eye floaters is the humble seeming beet.  We have known for a long time the beet helps to improve circulation and also purifies and builds up the blood.

New research finds that the nitrates found in beet juice both widen blood vessels and increase blood flow to the brain.

In a study of 14 people over age 70 published in Nitric Oxide: Biology and Chemistry, the participants who ate a high-nitrate diet featuring beat juice showed increased blood flow to the white matter of the frontal lobes of their brains.  Dementia and other related conditions are most commonly associated with the degradation of that part of the brain.  Source: WebMD

For more information on juicing, please visit our website.

“Floaters” are those small dark shapes that appear before your eyes and float through your field of vision.  Floaters are often the result of vitreous tears or detachments often experienced by seniors, but for some these clumps of protein can be the result of candidiasis, an overgrowth of the yeast-like fungus Candida albicans. Antibiotics, birth control pills, and an improper diet can all lead to candidiasis. The best way to start to counteract yeast overgrowth and the eye floaters and other health issues that this condition can cause is by eliminating sugar and yeast containing foods from the diet and introducing probiotics.

Here are some practical things you can do about floaters, those small dark shapes that seem to float through your field of vision.

They may look like dots, squiggles, strands or any of a hundred other shapes. Though annoying, floaters are harmless, and there are ways to prevent them through proper diet.

Warning: If you suddenly become aware of new spots in your vision, see your eye doctor right away to rule out serious problems.

Maintain a healthy diet:

1. The Vision Diet – recommended in Natural Eye Care: An Encyclopedia on CD, authored by Marc Grossman, O.D., L.Ac. and Michael Edson, MS, L.Ac. This CD covers 29 major eye conditions including Floaters with specific nutrient, diet, exercise and juicing instructions by eye condition, plus much more.
2. Daily juicing of vegetables and fruits (preferably organic). Our floater recipe is some combination of the following: garlic, parsley, beets, carrots, celery, parsnip, apple, raspberries (not too much fruit). Also see more info on juicing..
3. Supplement your diet with a good multivitamin such as One Plus Multivitamin Formula and/or and organic green drink daily such as Nanogreens
4. For protein, emphasize fish, soy (in moderation), almonds, sunflower seed and sesame seeds. avoid meat, poultry, eggs, dairy products and most other nuts.
5. Eat brown rice and other whole grains instead of refined and processed grains (such as white bread and pasta).
6. Limit your intake of citrus fruit, particularly those high in vitamin C such as tangerines, kiwi fruit, oranges, lemons, papayas and pineapples.
7. Use unsulfered molasses and fruit juices for sweetening instead of white sugar, chocolate or honey.
8. Drink rice, almond or soy milk, herb tea or unsweetened, diluted from fruit juices instead of coffee, tea, alcohol and dairy drinks.
9. Steam or bake foods instead of frying them.
10. Eat lots of vegetables, but avoid the nightshade family(e.g., tomatoes, green peppers, white potatoes and eggplant).
11. Minimize your use of salt.
12. Try to manage your stress. Take up Yoga, Tai Chi, meditation, walks in nature, or prayer on a daily basis.

Complementary Treatment and Recommended Vitamins, Supplements, Herbs & Other Nutritional Products

Essential: ReVision Formula- for overall eye health

Essential: Advanced Eye & Vision Support Formula – Whole Food Formula ($37.95 per bottle regular or $27.95 per bottle on automatic delivery).

Very Important: Floater Homeopathic Pellets

Very Important: Hyaluronic Acid 70 mg 60 vcapsules

Important: Clear Focus a liquid based sublingual formula containing Bilberry, Lutein, Ginkgo Biloba and Zeaxanthin.

Important: Milk Thistle Liquid Extract 2oz

Self Help:

Finally, you’ll find the experience of a woman who recovered from floaters and vitreous detachment to be quite interesting.

I should mention that there are quite a number of drugs which can harm your eyes – all of the following have the potential to contribute to glaucoma and other vision problems.

• NSAID’s-(non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs)include aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, Bayer, Aleve), flurbiprofen, ketoprofen and naproxen sodium. Also Tylenol (acetaminophen), though not an NSAID, can be harmful.
• Venlafaxine
• Steroids – cortisone prescriptions such as Prednisone are the most damaging drugs to the eyes of any prescription drugs. If you must take any of these drugs, be sure to supplement your diet with anti-oxidants such as vitamins E and C, and beta-carotene. Ask your doctor if you can replace Prednisone with a natural cortisone such as hydrocortisone.
• Simvastatin
• Fenfluramine
• Mirtazapine
• Gastic antispasmodics
• Antidepressants

A much safer course than automatically taking a lot of drugs, ie, for a headache, is to look at other contributing factors and make lifestyle changes in the amount of rest you get, the amount of exercise you get, your diet, levels of stress in your life, and so forth.

What are the conventional treatment options for glaucoma? Do they work?

Treatment depends on the nature and severity of each case. Commonly, open angle glaucoma is treated with eyedrops or oral medications. In the event this treatment does not lower the eye pressure inside the eye, laser therapy or surgery may be necessary. There are no guarantees!

What about alternative treatment?

Since we consider most eye conditions to be a reflection of the health of the whole body, lifestyle choices and diet can play a major factor in getting and maintaining good vision. Below are some recommendations:

• Studies show patients can reduce their eye pressure by five to seven millimeters with an improved diet and supplement program. In general, a diet high in betacarotene, vitamins C and E, and sulfur-bearing amino acids are recommended. Foods containing those nutrients include garlic, onions, beans, spinach, celery, turnips, yellow and orange vegetables, green leafy vegetables, seaweed, apples, oranges and tomatoes.
• The Vision Diet – recommended in Natural Eye Care: Your Guide to Healthy Vision, authored by Marc Grossman, O.D., L.Ac. and Michael Edson, MS, L.Ac. This CD covers 29 major eye conditions including Glaucoma with specific nutrient, diet, exercise and juicing instructions by eye condition, plus much more.
• Daily juicing of vegetables and fruits (preferably organic). Our glaucoma recipe is some combination of the following: celery, carrots, cucumber, radish, turnip, parsley, beets, cabbage, raspberries, plums, apple (not too much fruit). For more information, go to info about juicing.
• Drink lots of water – 8-10 glasses of purified water. Avoid carbonated, caffeinated and alcoholic beverages. They can actually dehydrate your eyes.
• Manage your stress – meditate, take a walk in nature, practice yoga, visualization techniques or prayer on a daily basis.
• Exercise daily – do at least 20 minutes of aerobic exercise daily. Walking and swimming are two excellent forms of exercise.
• Eye exercises can help to bring energy and blood to the eyes, thereby helping to drain away toxins or congestion to the eyes. These are free general eye exercises and acupressure points for overall eye health. See Free Eye Exercises
• Avoid foods to which you are allergic: a study of 113 patients with chronic simple glaucoma showed immediate IOP increases of up to 20 millimeters when they were exposed to foods in to which they were allergic.
• Supplement your diet with a specific eye formula such as the Optic Nerve Formula and an organic green drink daily such as Nanogreens

Most floaters are the result of bits of cells that remain in the vitreous humor after birth and float around when the vitreous becomes more liquified later in life.

Over 50% of people over 70 years of age report seeing floaters. Most floaters are age-related. The vitreous humor thickens and clumps as we age, and floaters result from the clumped vitreous gel.

From a Chinese Medicine perspective, floaters are an indicatoin of congestion in the liver, kidney and colon. Nutrients can eliminate congestion in these organs in order to keep the vitreous of the eye clear from these annoying specks, as well as to help strengthen the retinal tissue and integrity of the blood vessels.

Read more about why eye floaters develop and what you can do about them, as well as other causes of spots and dots in the eyes along with some cautions. Specific nutrients recommended are the chinese herbal classic formula Rambling Powder (Xiao Yao San) and Advanced Eye & Vision Support Formula, a proprietary formula of European Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus), South American Blueberry (Vaccinium spp.), European Eyebright Herb (Euphrasia off.), European Horsetail Herb (Equisetum arv.), European Pine Bark (Pinus pinaster), South American Barberry Bark (Berberis vulgaris), Chinese Gingko Biloba Leaf, Lutein (3.5mg), Zeaxanthin (6mg) from Marigold (Tagetes erecta), Alpha Lipoic Acid (naturally-derived), Grape Seed Extract (pesticide-free), South American Piper Nigrum Seed, Grade A Japanese Chlorella (C. pyrenoidosa), Wild Blue Green Algae (Aphan. flos-aquae), European Vegetable Extracts (Carrot, Broccoli), European Propolis Extract(pesticide-free), Medicinal Mushroom Extracts (raw & fermented mycelial extracts), Reishi (Hericium erin.), Coriolus versicolor; Japanese Marine Coral Minerals, Stabilized Rice Bran, and Plant Enzymes.