Protect your eyes from declining vision, glaucoma, and AMD. Discover how you can ensure your eyes’ best health...enjoy better vision...and prevent a sight-threatening eye disease. Dear Reader, As we age, our eyes age as well. Our eyes’ lenses become harder and less elastic. It becomes more difficult to read without glasses. We find it increasingly difficult to drive at night. We may experience flashes and floaters. Our eyes are sometimes dry, or teary, or tired. Too frequently our aging eyes become more vulnerable to cataracts and vision-impairing diseases such as glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) or diabetic retinopathy. You can keep your future bright! A new report from Harvard Medical School will show you how to sensibly and seamlessly adjust to common changes...sustain maximum eye health...and prevent and treat serious eye disease. In this awaited guide you’ll discover specific steps you can take to halt worsening vision, ease annoying discomfort, and stimulate lasting eye health. This report provides important and empowering news about the most recent advances in cataract surgery, exciting progress in halting glaucoma, breakthroughs in managing AMD, and much more. End your concern and confusion about declining vision, cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration, and more! If you ask any adult which of their five senses they’d most hate to lose, the answer invariably is their sight. Whether you’re behind the wheel or in front of your computer or just reading this page, you depend on your sight. Your sight both keeps you connected and gives you independence. But like the rest of your body, your eyes change throughout your life. This report will show you how to keep pace with those changes — from the most common to the most sight-threatening. In The Aging Eye, Harvard doctors share strategies and advances to fortify eye health and ward off eye disease. Most of us don’t mind reading glasses (except when we misplace them!). What’s important is retaining our sight and the freedom and fulfillment it ensures. In The Aging Eye you’ll discover steps you can take now to protect your eyes — and your vision — throughout your lifetime. With the report... ...you’ll know what to expect — and do. You’ll be ready for those changes adults can anticipate. You’ll learn why close-up vision weakens over time and the role of new corrective options. You’ll find a technique to halt floaters...a break-through advance to resolve dry eyes without drops...ways to relieve the itch of conjunctivitis...an outpatient procedure for a retinal tear...and more. ...you’ll be on top of advances halting serious eye disease. The report high-lights progress in cataract surgery and replacement lenses. You’ll be alerted to a new sustained-release medication for glaucoma...emerging tools to monitor and manage AMD...and ways to slow effects of diabetic retinopathy. ...you’ll master easy measures to safeguard your sight. The report offers practical ways to boost eye health. You’ll discover two foods better than carrots for your eyes...a vitamin that may help stall cataracts...how to select the right sunglasses...and one change that can cut the risk of AMD in half.

 

Healthy eating for blood sugar control

If you have diabetes, a healthy eating plan for you is not that different from a healthy eating plan for people without diabetes. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) echoes the dietary guidelines recommended for the general public — that is, a diet centered on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes (peas and beans), and low-fat dairy products.

However, you'll want to pay special attention to your carbohydrate intake.

Vegetables, fruits, and whole grains provide more nutrition per calorie than refined carbohydrates and tend to be rich in fiber. Your body digests high-fiber foods more slowly — which means a more moderate rise in blood sugar.

For most people with diabetes, carbohydrates should account for about 45% to 55% of the total calories you eat each day. Choose your carbohydrates wisely — ideally, from vegetables, whole grains, and fruits. Avoid highly refined carbohydrates such as white bread, pasta, and rice, as well as candy, sugary soft drinks, and sweets. Refined carbohydrates tend to cause sharp spikes in blood sugar, and can boost blood triglyceride levels.

Fiber comes in two forms: insoluble fiber, the kind found in whole grains, and soluble fiber, found in beans, dried peas, oats, and fruits. Soluble fiber in particular appears to lower blood sugar levels by improving insulin sensitivity, which may mean you need less diabetes medicine. And a number of studies suggest that eating plenty of fiber reduces the chances of developing heart disease — and people with diabetes need to do all they can to lower their risk.

 

 

The impact of stress on your gut

Given how closely the gut and brain interact, it might seem obvious that the pair often influence each other. Some people feel nauseated before giving a presentation; others feel intestinal pain during times of stress. In any case, emotional and psychosocial factors play a role in functional gastrointestinal disorders.

Treating the whole body

Stress-related symptoms felt in the gastrointestinal tract vary greatly from one person to the next, and treatment can vary as well. For example, one person with gastroesophageal reflux disease might have an occasional, mild burning sensation in the chest, while another experiences excruciating discomfort night after night. As the severity of symptoms varies, so should the therapies, medications, self-help strategies, or even surgeries used to relieve them.

Many people have mild symptoms that respond quickly to changes in diet or medications. If your symptoms do not improve, your clinician may ask you more questions about your medical history and perform some diagnostic tests to rule out an underlying cause. For some people, symptoms improve as soon as a serious diagnosis, like cancer, has been ruled out. Your doctor may also recommend symptom-specific medications.

But sometimes these treatments are not enough. As symptoms become more severe, so does the likelihood that you are experiencing some sort of psychological distress.

Often, people with moderate to severe symptoms, particularly those whose symptoms arise from stressful circumstances, can benefit from mind directed therapies, such as cognitive behavioral therapy and relaxation techniques. Some people are reluctant to accept the role of psycho-social factors in their illness. But it's important to know that emotions cause genuine chemical and physical responses in the body that can result in pain and discomfort.

Behavioral therapy and stress reduction treatments help manage pain and improve other symptoms in ways that are different from how drugs act. The goal of all therapies is to reduce anxiety, encourage healthy behaviors, and help people cope with the pain and discomfort of their condition.