1.

Emphasize a diet of organic, whole foods, with a daily abundance of fresh fruits
and vegetables. Choose from a wide variety, focusing on those foods rich in
antioxidants. These include red, orange and purple bell peppers, carrots, celery,
dark-green leafy vegetables such as chard, kale, collard, spinach and richer colored
green leaf lettuces, parsley, tomatoes and yellow squash. Fruits high in anti-
oxidants include berries, especially raw or juiced Acai berries, Goji berries and dark
colored berries, purple and red grapes, plums, cherries, mangos, melons and citrus
fruits. For a sweet treat or to help curb chocolate cravings, enjoy the anti-oxidant
rich unsweetened cacoa. Mixed with natural sweeteners such as raw honey or
agave syrup, cacoa is a scrumptious alternative to the typical refined sugar in
conventional chocolate products.

Organic egg yolks are also recommended because they are rich in carotenoids, an
important class of antioxidants. It is best to eat soft, rather than hard cooked egg
yolks to preserve the heat sensitive valuable carotenoids. Soft boiled, poached,
sunny side up, or raw eggs are best. Raw eggs may be eaten if they come from a
reliable organic source and are washed prior to cracking. Samonella travels on the
shell of the egg and enters the egg from the outside, so washing eggs with hot
sudsy water minimizes exposure.

Avoid all processed and fried foods, sugar and sugar products, refined, simple
carbohydrates, alcohol, and unhealthy hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated
oils. Milk and dairy products should be consumed sparingly, and preferably raw and
organic. Avoid conventional flesh foods and overcooked/grilled meats. In addition,
test for food allergies and sensitivities and eliminate those foods that test positive.

Also be sure to drink plenty of pure, filtered water throughout the day, at least half
your body weight in ounces, to help flush out accumulated debris in the eye
drainage channels. Proper hydration is also essential for maintaining the suppleness
of the eyes` lenses. Fresh raw green juices are also an important addition to one`s
daily food plan. See the recipe section for green juice suggestions.

2.
A. Astigmatism is a very common condition of poor eyesight that is characterized by
the cornea of the eye becoming oval or football-shaped, rather than round, which is
normal and required for good eyesight. The word astigmatism itself come from the
Greek a, meaning "without," and stigma, meaning "point". In cases of astigmatism,
light rays do not form a single point of focus as they enter the eye, causing the eye
to focus on two points instead of one.

B. Eye Exercises: The following eye exercises are useful for preventing and
reversing most types of vision problems.

* Rest your eyes for five minutes every 30 to 60 minutes, relaxing your gaze and
staring into space.
* Blink your eyes regularly. This reduces eyestrain.
* Take regular breaks throughout the day to breathe deeply for a few minutes,
coupled with neck and shoulder stretching. This helps to ensure that your eye
muscles receive adequate amounts of oxygen.
* To further reduce facial tension, yawn in an exaggerated fashion. Doing so helps
to stretch and relax your facial muscles.
* Cover your eyes with you palms for five minutes and breathe deeply. Do this
every one to two hours.
* Spend 20 to 30 minutes each day rapidly switching your focus from near to far. An
easy way to do this is to hold your finger six to eight inches from your eyes. Focus
on it for a moment, then focus on an object in the distance. Keep changing your
focus from near to far. This is an excellent way to exercise your eye muscles.
* Roll your eyes all the way up and down in a full circular motion for five minutes,
three to five times a day.
* Pin a sheet of reading material to the wall and read it from two feet away (or
closer if you need to). Each day, step further away from the wall. With regular
practice, you will eventually be able to read the same material from across the
room. If you are nearsighted, reverse this process, starting as far away from the
sheet of paper as you need to be, then slowly moving closer each day until you are
able to read it standing only a few inches away.

c.
D. Treating astigmatism is all about addressing the uneven curvature that causes
your vision to blur. You can go through refractive surgery or you can simply wear
contact lenses in order to address the illness. Here is a list of ways to treat
astigmatism

• Contact Lenses – You can correct either lenticular or corneal astigmatism

through the use of contact lenses. There are so many contact lenses
available in the market nowadays. You can purchase contact lenses that are
soft, hard, disposable, permeable, bifocal, and many more. Weigh out the
advantages and the disadvantages of the several types of contact lenses
before you purchase them so that you make a good choice
• Corrective Lenses – You can wear corrective lenses in order to counteract
the irregular curvature of your cornea
• Glasses – You can also wear eyeglasses to counteract the irregular curvature
of your cornea. Like contact lenses, glasses come in a variety of shapes,
sizes, styles, and functions
• Orthokeratology – This procedure is also known as Ortho-K. This procedure
requires you to wear a rigid set of contact lenses for several hours in order to
improve the curvature of your eyes. The number of hours is reduced
gradually until your eye takes its new shape. If the procedure is stopped
midway then your eye will simply return to its previous state
• Corneal Transplant – If you can find healthy donor cornea then you can
simply replace yours. The procedure will be performed under local
anaesthetic or general anaesthetic, depending on your ophthalmologist’s
recommendation and your choice
• New Lens Implants – You can also implant corrective lens in your eye
although this is a rare procedure
• Radial Keratotomy – This is an old procedure and is not usually performed
anymore. Initially, there will be good results although farsightedness has
been reported to develop in some patients

Refractive Eye Surgery used to treat astigmatism

Reshaping the surface of the eye is an effective way of correcting astigmatism.
Here are some of the refractive surgery methods

• Photorefractive Keratectomy – This is abbreviated as PRK. In this type of

surgery, the outer protective layer of your cornea is removed. Afterwards, a
laser is used to correct the curvature of your cornea.
• Laser-assisted subepithelial keratomileusis – This is abbreviated as
LASEK. In this kind of surgery, a thin layer of cornea is folded back. This is
done so that the eye will not incur as much damage compared to a complete
exposure. If you are into sports or if you are in danger of injuring your eyes
then this kind of surgery is a better option for you.
• Laser-assisted in-situ keratomileusis – This is abbreviated as LASIK. In
this procedure, the doctor will make a thin circular hinged cut into your
cornea by using a special instrument called a keratome. A laser can also be
used to make this kind of cut. The surgeon will lift the flap and then use an
excimer laser to sculpt the shape of the cornea underneath the flap. An
excimer laser is a type of laser that does not produce heat and it is ideal for
this kind of surgery.

3. Bates Method

The Bates method, popularized in the early twentieth century by ophthalmologist

William Horatio Bates, involves the use of therapeutic eye exercises. Bates claims
these exercises will correct vision problems, thus alleviating the need for glasses ...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine
Acupuncture
The practice of acupuncture originated in China 5,000 years ago. Today it is widely
used throughout the world and is one of the main pillars of Chinese medicine. There
are many different varieties of the practice of acupuncture, both in the Orient and
in the West. The most common forms available to westerners are as follows.
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) usually combines acupuncture with Chinese
herbs. Classical acupuncture (also known as five element acupuncture) uses a
different needling technique and relies on acupuncture independent of the use of
herbs. Japanese acupuncture uses smaller needles than the other varieties. Medical
acupuncture refers to acupuncture practiced by a conventional medical doctor.
Auricular acupuncture treats the entire body through acupuncture points in the ears
only. Electroacupuncture uses electrical currents attached to acupuncture needles.
Aside from needles, other methods of stimulation are also considered forms of
"acupuncture." These include the use of heat from the burning of herbs placed on
specific points ("moxibustion") and the placement of herbal pastes on specific
points. Research on the effectiveness of acupuncture has special challenges. These
include the diversity of approaches, the practice of individualizing treatment for
each patient, differing skill levels between practitioners, and difficulty separating
out the effects of acupuncture from placebo effects (i.e., how the patient's beliefs
and expectations affect his/her perception of symptoms). Based on acupuncture's
long history of use as well as the limited research available, both the World Health
Organization and the National Institutes of Health have identified many conditions
for which it may be recommended. However, many common uses do not yet have
formal scientific evidence to support them.