Dear Healthy Friend,

Arnette, Gucci, Bondi Blu, Oakley, Ray Ban... get yours now... they could save your eyesight... And while you're at it... add a salad to tonight's menu...  See Jenny's article below to see how these two simple items could help prevent you from losing your eyesight...

In the name of good health,

Taryn Strugnell
Managing Editor of Nutrition & Healing

P.S. Milk is for calves... that's why cows produce it... keep reading to see what Dr Wright has to say about humans comsuming this dairy product...

Simple ways to stop retinitis pigmentosa in its tracks

Think of an old silent movie where the darkness around the edge of the frame begins to slowly close down toward the middle of the screen until the image is completely black.

Now imagine watching that happen over a decade.

That's retinitis pigmentosa.

And, in medical jargon: "Retinitis pigmentosa is really, really bad."

That's the note that HSI Panelist Dr Allan Spreen included when he sent me a copy of a new study that offers some hopeful news for retinitis pigmentosa (RF) patients.

RF is a genetic disorder, so if someone in your family has been diagnosed, consider yourself at high risk. Hundreds of thousands of patients are currently coping with this debilitating disease.

RF causes photoreceptor cells in the retina to degenerate. The first symptom is poor night vision. After that, peripheral vision begins to narrow and some RF patients eventually lose their sight completely. Those who don't will spend their later years with significantly impaired vision.

As the good doctor says: Really, really bad.

So what can you do?

It sounds simple, but you can wear sunglasses, which protect retinas from ultraviolet light. And then you can increase your intake of two plant carotenoids: Vitamin A and lutein.

Studies have shown that vitamin A may slow the progression of RF. In a new study from several university research centres (including Harvard, Brandeis and Tufts), 225 non-smokers with RF were given 15,000IU of vitamin A daily for four years. In addition, half the group also received 12 milligrams of lutein daily or a placebo.

Lutein, like vitamin A, is an antioxidant. It functions as a light filter to protect the macula - the spot on the retina at the back of the eyeball where light is collected for the optic nerve.

Results showed a significant slowing of vision decline in both groups, with the combination of vitamin A and lutein providing better protection.

Researchers note that someone with RF at age 40 could expect to lose their mid-peripheral field of vision by age 51. Results of this study suggest that a 40-year-old RF patient who takes vitamin A and lutein daily may put off that level of loss by about a decade - to around age 61.

And even if you don't have RF, increasing your lutein intake is a smart move.

First of all, lutein is well known for supporting general vision health and helping to prevent age-related macular degeneration - the primary cause of blindness in people over the age of 50.

In addition, lutein might be a vision-saver when it comes to staring at your computer monitor.

In a trial I told you about last year, Chinese researchers found that 12mg of lutein daily improved visual function and contrast sensitivity in subjects with long-term exposure to computer monitor screens.

In addition to taking a lutein supplement, it's easy to boost the lutein content in your diet. Lutein is most abundant in spinach, avocado, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, lettuce, celery, oranges and eggs.

So plan a big salad for lunch and enjoy healthy vision.

Is milk really that bad?

Q: I just started subscribing to Nutrition & Healing and I really like most of what you say. But why are you so against milk? I've been drinking it for years without problems - and my bones seem to be just fine. Is it really that bad for me?

Dr. Wright: I'm glad to hear that your bones are strong, but I'd be willing to bet the milk isn't what's doing the job. I know it sounds unbelievable, but the proof is there.

In fact, in one 12-year prospective study published in 1997 in the American Journal of Public Health, researchers studied 77,761 women ages 34 to 59 and found no evidence that higher intakes of cow's milk reduced fracture incidence. They actually found the opposite: Women who drank two or more glasses of milk daily actually had a significantly higher risk of bone fracture when compared with women who drank less than one glass of milk per week.