Friday, January 25, 2013

Benifits from a Natural Approach, Winter Eye Protection, Making Tea Work for You


Steve’s Corner
By Steve Evans, M.S., President and Chief Research Scientist


More Benefits from a Natural Approach.  Dr. Ryan has made the case that reversing some conditions naturally can be far wiser than relying on pharmaceutical approaches.  As an example, Canadian researchers published these findings  [in Ophthalmology, 117(6):1251-1255, June, 2010] after studying 19,000 seniors who took anti-depressants compared to 190,000 that didn’t.  The average increase of cataracts by the drug users was 15%.  The anti-depressant Luvox increased risk by 39%, Effexor by 33%, and Paxil by 23%.   Not surprising, as the saying goes, there is no such thing as a free lunch.   For those who switched to natural approaches and ended their dependence on pharmaceuticals, past usage did not increase their current risk once off the drugs. 

Winter Eye Protection.  We all have been advised about sunscreens for skin protection, but have you protected your eyes from the sun?  Ultraviolet rays can lead to cataracts and macular degeneration.  Exposure to sunlight has a cumulative effect.  So your sunglasses should have a UV coating that blocks out 99% of the harmful rays.  Tinted glasses without the UV protective coating are more dangerous since the tint causes your pupils to open wider so that the retina receives even more radiation.  Note that there is even more risk in these winter months since the sun is at a lower angle and you get reflection off of snow and concrete.  The next time you replace your glasses, add UV protection.

Making Tea Work for You.  Tea, as we all know now, has enormous benefits.  However tea does contain a great deal of aluminum.  As national expert Dr. Russell Blaylock has pointed out [Blaylock Wellness Report, p. 4, June, 2004], unfortunately when you add lemon to your tea, you increase aluminum absorption from the tea seven-fold.  So your smart move is to omit the lemon with your tea since aluminum has been associated with many detrimental side effects.  Moreover adding milk or for that matter any products with caseins eliminates most or all of the cardiovascular benefits that black tea provides [as reported in the European Heart Journal, 28(2):219-223, 2007]. So simply go for the straight tea – to gain its benefits.



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