Your Eyes are the Windows to Your Health

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I was reading an article today in a magazine on age-related macular degeneration.  This disease can cause severe blindness and, unfortunately, is on a path of increasing incidence in the United States, like seemingly everything else.  This particular article was outlining a well respected theory of how this disease occurs and its connection with cardiovascular health.  I started thinking about the relationship between our eyes and our bodies.

The incidence of age related macular degeneration in the United States is increasing, but so is heart disease, obesity, diabetes, and cancer.  In fact, it has been predicted that half of Americans will either be diabetic or pre-diabetic by 2020.  Half?!!!  That's a lot of syringes, people.  Is there a common connection to all of our increasing ailments?  Maybe its our diets, pollution, or our stressful lifestyle (I never did get into yoga, and a cheeseburger with beer is so much more satisfying after a long day).

So what is the connection between our general health and our eyes?  Actually there is a large connection between our general health and our eyes:

-Did you know there is a condition with the eyes that seems to have a correlation with stress?  Central serous choroidopathy seems to occur in young men with type A personality?  That was the mantra we all had to remember in optometry school.  And for somebody who is, oh I don't know, exactly that, it was quite nerve racking to learn about it.  If I didn't already have have it, I was going to get it just by knowing what it was.  It causes swelling in the area of your 20/20 vision.  Luckily it has a good prognosis.

-When you go to the beach do you remember the sun block for your skin?  What about the sun block for your eyes (aka sunglasses)?  Sun exposure can cause cataracts and macular degeneration among other problems. 

-Cigarrette smoking can actually help cause blindness (and you thought it was only going to cause lung cancer.)  You have a significant risk of getting macular degeneration if you are a smoker. 

-When you get older, and especially if your cardiovascular health isn't up to par, then your blood flow is weak.  Less blood flow means less oxygen and nutrition being supplied to your eyes.  This has been shown to have a strong correlation with glaucoma, certain types of retinopathy, and macular degeneration.  High blood pressure can lead to conditions that could take away your ability to see.

-Also, remember our little friend diabetes (you know, the disease that one half of us are going to get)?  It can actually cause bleeding inside the eyes, not to mention blindness.

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Now lets talk about nutrition (and, no, eating tons of carrots isn't going to save your eyes).  Omega 3 fatty acid (EPA/DHA) is constantly being shown to help with various areas of our bodies such as cardiovascular health, brain function, and, you betcha, eye health.  It has powerful anti-inflammatory properties to keep your eyes feeling and seeing their best!  Antioxidants, such as vitamin E and C, regular exercise, eating green leafy vegetables, and control of mental stress have all been suggested to be beneficial as well (or maybe we should all just eat bugs like the chickens!).

As you can see our eyes are simply just an extension of our body's overall health.  If our bodies are having problems, chances are our eyes are having problems as well, both of which need special attention.  Your eyes provide an excellent window to your health.  When was your last eye exam?