Source: The Belfast News Letter
Publication date: 2001-11-07

New research from America seeks to prove that regular food supplements can significantly improve common eye conditions such as glaucoma, macular degeneration and cataracts.

Yesterday in Belfast saw the launch of the EyeSight Action, a non- profit making organisation committed to assisting eyesight recovery using natural health methods.

Robert Redfern, an alternative health consultant and author of 10 steps to your Natural Eye Health is promoting the establishment of EyeSight Action throughout the UK.

He decided to throw his weight behind it because conventional medicine eschews the idea that declining eye sight could be caused by nutritional deficiencies.

Robert Redfern says this attitude has to change. Doctors, he says are staring the evidence in the face but still won't accept it.

"Consultants are technical experts," he says. "They find it hard to accept that diseases are caused by nutritional deficiencies and can be cured. Yet doctors in America are having very encouraging results treating eye conditions with nutrient supplements for more than 5 years.

"In particular an antioxidant called lutein, taken in the form of a daily mouth spray has been shown to boost and protect vision and, in some cases, reverse some of the damage caused by the illness age- related macular degeneration (AMD), affecting up to 40 million people around the world. Lutein is one of just two antioxidants specific to the macular which can prevent the action of free radicals damaging and destroying healthy cells."

Angry that doctors were allegedly ignorning this simple solution Robert set about writing his book which is based on personal stories from many people with AMD whose loss of vision has been significantly slowed down by taking lutein.

He says: "There are numerous examples of people who regain their sight. We know people who were forced to give up driving because of their AMD who can now drive again: People who have regained their independence, when they thought nothing could be done."

Our diet is high in processed food with most families resorting to convenience foods on a regular basis. This means that children do not get the vegetables or fruit they need to grow up healthy.

Robert: "A diet of leafy-green vegetables will protect the eye on a day to day basis, but where damage is done, vital nutrients need to be taken in a concentrated form with high doses being needed for maximum effect."

Lutein is a powerful antioxidant found in many fruits and vegetables including curly kale, a geen vegetable that isn't as common in our vegetable shops as, say, cabbage or broccolli. However, kale is in season now. There are reasons why many people do not absorb the lutein which is also extracted from the marigold plant. The main one is we would have to eat a lot of kale to get enough of it. Those people with absorption problems may have difficulty. Coincidentally people suffering from the eye condition reginitis pigmentosis generally have difficulty absorbing lutein. The good news is that lutein is now available in spray form and is absorbed straight into the bloodstream under the tongue where it gets to work immediately.

Robert began his interest in alternative health years ago when his parents died in their sixties. Though his background was in electronics he says he realised that they both died far too young, just like so many others. "I started firstly to study the average diet and found it to be atrocious. Then I began to study health research from all over the world after which I wrote my book. "

He adds: "It is now believed there may be some two million people living in the UK who are going blind because their consultant has told them there is nothing that can be done for them. The problem with some consultants is that they don't want the solution to seem so simple that it negates all they believe."

In overall health he believes that the major cause of disease is eating too much starch based carbohydrates. He says: "Our bodies simply cannot cope with so much starch which turns to glucose and then quickly turns into fat.

"People are also told all the time to eat wheat, but even that is too much for our system.

"In the bible they didn't eat wheat grains, they ate sprouted wheat bread, in other words, they mashed down the sprout and made the bread from that. We know that people with coeliac who cannot tolerate gluten can eat bread made from wheat sprout. When people with epilepsy were taken off starch and carbohydrates and increased the fat in their diet they improved greatly and many were able to reduce their medicines. Twenty five years ago a milking cow could easily live 25 years, now it's around eight because they are being fed too many grains. The problems are all there for us.

"Potentially we are poisoning ourselves. The causes of cancer is not enough oxygen and too much glucose in our cells. If you're a smoker then that can be the trigger for the cancer.

"A myth abounds that fat is bad for you, well it isn't. People with eyesight problems will also need an amino acid called taurine found in vegetables and eggs."

Robert says some doctors and opticians are starting to get the message:

"I hope that EyeSight Action will give the people the information they need and help deal with the problems that conventional medicine has not been able to deal with."

For more details on how to source the various eye products please contact: Robert Redfern on 0870 241 4237. Lutein and taurine sprays are available from health shops.

A VISION FOR THE FUTURE: Robert Redfern, an alternative health consultant is promoting the establishment of EyeSight Action throughout the UK.