Cigarettes and Alcohol Can Cause Visual Impairment Reports Holistic Ophthalmologist

Press release - June 6, 2014

Cigarettes and Alcohol Can Cause Visual Impairment Reports Holistic Ophthalmologist

Natural Vision and Eye Health Tips from Holistic Ophthalmologist John Monroe, MD.

Hear the Sharon Kleyne Hour Power of Water on World Talk Radio, Voice America, Green Talk Network and Apple iTunes

Cigarettes and alcohol can cause visual impairment. Nearsightedness can be caused by stress. Macular degeneration can be caused by drinking too much coffee. Those were among many insights offered by Holistic Ophthalmologist John Monroe during a guest appearance on the Sharon Kleyne Hour Power of Water Radio show. .

Holistic Ophthalmology was recently in the news because of the nation of Dubai's announcement that they will soon be offering "medical tourism" packages, including .Ophthalmology and Holistic Wellness. The John Monroe interview of February 3, 2014 summarized what medical tourists to Dubai might expect when seeking Holistic Ophthalmology treatment.

(See Sahoo, Sandana, "Dubai to roll out medical tourism packages," The National, May 18, 2014

http://www.thenational.ae/business/industry-insights/tourism/dubai-to-roll-out-medical-tourism-packages).

John Monroe, MD, is an ophthalmologist associated with Dr. Deborah E. Banker's holistic eye care clinic in Boulder, Colorado.

The globally syndicated Sharon Kleyne Hour Power of Water® radio show, with host Sharon Kleyne, is heard on the VoiceAmerica Variety and Health and Wellness Channels, and on Apple iTunes. Kleyne is Founder of Bio-Logic Aqua Research, a research, technology and product development center, and the world's only company specializing in fresh water, atmosphere and health. Natures Tears® EyeMist® is the Research Center's global signature product.

Holistic medicine, Monroe explained, is based on the assumption that diseases are not isolated and that if doctors only treat specific disease symptoms, the underlying causes will remain. Monroe and Banker specialize in the application of this approach to eyes and vision.

An example is the effects of drinking coffee on vision. According to Monroe, coffee contains caffeine, a stimulant, but also contains tannic acid, a vaso-constrictor. If ingested to excess, tannic acid can cause capillary constriction that is damaging to the brain, liver and eye retinas. Cigarette smoke is also a vaso-constrictor.

Monroe and Banker believe that when treating retinal disease, factors such as coffee intake must be considered.

Consuming alcohol, according to Monroe, can cause physical dehydration that, among other things, can reduce the basal tear flow from lachrymal glands to the eyes, and cause "floaters" to break off the retina and migrate into the visual field. To avoid alcohol dehydration, Monroe and many other experts recommend drinking one glass for water for every alcoholic drink consumed.

Drinking additional water also reduces the effects of cigarette smoke on the eyes and body.

Emotional problems can also damage the and cause visual impairment. Nearsightedness, Monroe explains, is the result of chronic tightening of the of the outer eye muscles, which eventually distorts the shape of the eyeball. Frequent stress or anger can result in permanent distortion.

Banker's natural eye clinic treats vision problems without surgery or drugs, relying instead on eye exercises, acupressure, external devices and natural remedies. Diet, exercise, water intake and overall health are primary concerns.

A good eye health diet, according to Monroe and Kleyne, includes dark green leafy vegetables, small portions of lean meat (or no meat) with no hormones, and minimal dairy or fat. Monroe notes that fat can cause blood cell "clumping" that impairs the flow of blood to the capillaries. Impaired capillary flow can affect the functioning of many parts of the body, including the eyes.

Monroe recommends one glass of water for every hour one is awake. Kleyne recommends a minimum of eight glasses a day, in addition to all other fluid intake such as coffee, tea, soda and juice. Moist foods such as melon, apples, celery and lettuce are very beneficial.

Monroe and Banker are available for consultation by phone or email Monday through Saturday, from 10:00 a.m. 7 p.m. For contact information, go to http://www.drbanker.com/.

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Other subjects discussed by Sharon Kleyne and Dr, Monroe during the interview:

Dr. Monroe became interested in holistic ophthalmology when a patient came to him who had developed glaucoma and a detached retina shortly after undergoing laser eye surgery. Monroe began wondering how many common eye complaints can be traced to other diseases and factors. He became fascinated by the question of "ultimate causes."

Soon after, Monroe became involved with Dr. Deborah Banker's vision clinic, which take a whole body approach to vision problems and treats ultimate causes rather than symptoms.

Monroe discussed nearsightedness at length and stated that stress and anger can cause the six outer eye muscles to tighten up. They can remain tightened even after the stress is relieved. This not only causes vision problems, it can cause headache, fatigue and depression, which in turn, can have many side effects.

Tightening of these muscles, according to Monroe, can eventually elongate the eyeball, which is the main cause of nearsightedness. This can also create tension in the retina and cause retinal detachment.

Macular degeneration, Monroe noted, is caused by poor blood circulation in the retina, which is the back of the eyeball where images entering through the cornea land and are "read" by millions of receptor cells. As a result of poor blood circulation, retinal cells become inflamed and start dying. One cause of poor blood circulation in the eyes, according to Monroe, is the tannic acid (not the caffeine) in coffee.

Tannic acid constricts capillary blood vessels, says Monroe. In addition to retinal damage blood vessel contraction can cause liver damage. Some artificial sweeteners (aspartame) also constrict capillaries.

Certain foods can cause blood to "clump," which also impairs capillary circulation and which can cause plaque buildup in the arteries. Plaque buildup is called "atherosclerosis" and is the leading cause of heart attacks an strokes.

Over consumption of sugar is well known to cause atherosclerosis - not to mention obesity and diabetes. Soft drinks and many juices have an unacceptably high sugar - or aspartame - content.

Monroe's good vision diet includes raw and organic non-processed foods, dark green leafy vegetables, lean free range meat in small portions and very little dairy or animal fat.

Kleyne noted that alcohol and caffeine are both dehydrating. Monroe recommends drinking a glass of water after each alcoholic drink and a glass of water after every cigarette. Cigarettes and alcohol are damaging to eyes for several reasons.

Free radicals in the blood should be eliminated because they can damage healthy cells and cause cancer. Monroe suggests baking soda in water or sodium bicarbonate in water to control free radicals. Kleyne noted that she has heard of baking soda missed with syrup for free radicals.

Dr. Banker and Dr. Monroe's address is http://www.drbanker.com/ Dr. Monroe can also be reached at 303-494-4532 and is happy to answer questions during business hours, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. MST/MDT, Monday through Saturday.

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