Glaucoma is a neurodegenerative disease of the optic nerve. Neuroprotection should be of great interest to any glaucoma patient. The abstracts below deal with potential use of dietary antioxidants in the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.

Calabrese V, Cornelius C, Mancuso C, et al:

Cellular Stress Response: A Novel Target for Chemoprevention and Nutritional Neuroprotection in Aging, Neurodegenerative Disorders and Longevity.

Neurochem Res 2008

Interesting research about therapeutic effects of curcumin against an array of widely-spread diseases with Dave's comments. The article also makes reference to "ancient treatments" and discusses the very nature of inflammation.

Amagase H, Nance DM: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled,
clinical study of the general effects of a standardized Lycium barbarum
(Goji) Juice, GoChi. J Altern Complement Med 2008;14:403-412.

BACKGROUND: This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial
is the first study reported outside China that has examined the effects of
the orally consumed goji berry, Lycium barbarum, as a standardized juice
(GoChi; FreeLife International LLC, Phoenix, AZ) to healthy adults for 14
days.

This post is part of a series of articles intended to help you understand the relationship between your thoughts and your intraocular pressure. When I speak about the relationship between stress and eye pressure, many of us have a hard time making the connection -- because stress is a constant in most of our lives. This exercise will help make the connection between IOP and stress clearer.

In a prior article about the best foods for fit eyes, I strongly recommended blueberries, grapes and raisins. I said, "According to Dr. Abel, [blueberries, grapes and raisins] contain anthocyanins, which improve night vision. A cup full of blueberries, huckleberry jam, or a 100 mg bilberry supplement should improve dark adaptation within 30 minutes."

"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." is the mantra of a New York Times Magazine article containing an excellent account of recommended dietary concepts. You will see how the damaging concept of chemical nutrients could be replaced by knowledge of the healing effects of taste to bring nutrition back from the realm of the food chemistry lab into the real world of sensory pleasure and good health.

August 04, 2008
Katie and Oprah meet face-to-face* in Chicago to talk about The Work.

Join Katie and Oprah as they discuss The Work and “Loving What Is.” This conversation will air on Oprah’s “Soul Series” radio program on August 4th, and August 11th at 4am, 10am, 4pm and 10pm (all times Eastern).

For more information, see this link: http://www.thework.com/events.asp

This story has a positive end, but I did have a stressful situation yesterday in regards to my intraocular pressure. In the early afternoon I used the Tiolat iCare tonometer to measure my intraocular pressure, as I have been doing every day for a long time. I obtained seven intraocular pressure measurements (each the average of 6 probe contacts, so this was a total of 42 individual measurements) in the range of 3mmHg to 5mmHg in my left eye. (My right eye was a bit higher, in the range of 8 mmHg.)

The low intraocular pressure reading shocked me! Obviously, this is too low!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gay-browne/organic-panic-what-to-do_b_115045.html

Interesting article on Huffington Post about organic foods. Here's an excerpt:

Starting with my first true 24-hour period of intraocular pressure data collection I was shocked to see how high my eye pressure rose while I was lying in bed and sleeping at night. My eye pressure more than doubled while I was sleeping, going from around 12 to around 25 mmHg.

I love the freedom of choice we have in the US. We can choose any specialist and make an appointment directly -- provided we are willing to pay the costs ourselves when insurance won't cover it. But at least we have the option to make the choice. I hear from people in other countries who seem to have a much more difficult time finding quality care. These conversations remind me of what I like about the US health care system.

 Frequent cell phone use probably isn't good for any part of the brain -- or the head. It may take several more decades before we fully understand this important issue, but my hunch is that minimizing my use of a cell phone is a smart thing to do. During my pursuit of regeneration in my optic nerves I need every possible edge I can give myself. Given that most experts would give me no chance of regenerating my optic nerves, I certainly do not want to diminish whatever small chance I may have by bombarding my head with potentially harmful radiation.

Genetically modified food is a very serious threat to our health. With that in mind, I was very pleased to read the recent news in the case of Percy Schmeiser, a farmer from Saskatchewan Canada,  v Monsanto. Schmeiser's Canola fields were contaminated with Monsanto's Round-Up Ready Canola. On 19 March 2008 Monsanto accepted their responsibility for the genetic contamination of Schmeiser’s canola fields in an out of court settlement between Percy Schmeiser and Monsanto.

What's in the bottle on the right in the photo below?