Eyes

You must have definitely come across the cliché that Cucumbers are miraculous for eyes. It does wonders. Yes! It’s true. Cucumber has magical power to heal. There are enlightening benefits of cucumber on eyes.

You might have seen women having put cucumber slices on their eyes and relaxing, you might be curious if it is really effective.

Let’s see the benefits of the traditional fruit- cucumber on the skin-
Pool of Vitamins and minerals

Cucumber contain lots of minerals and vitamins. One cucumber can suffice the need of vitamins and minerals daily. Cucumber contains Thiamine, riboflavin, Vitamin B6 and minerals like calcium magnesium. These vitamins and minerals are essential for healthy vision. Deficiency in these will lead to blurred vision, eye twitching.
Lightening effect

Cucumbers help to lighten dark circles under the eyes. Cut two slices of cool cucumber and place them on your eyes for 5-10 minutes. This will soothe the eyes and relieve it from the stress developed due to work.
Reduce puffiness

Cucumber contains ascorbic acid and caffeic acid which lowers the water retention in the eyes. This will suppress the swelling and puffiness in the eyes. Also it has anti-inflammatory effect and cool temperature decreases the blood flow around the eyes, thus alleviating swelling and puffiness around eyes.
Natural moisturizer

Cucumber is 95% water. It avoids stretching and irritation of skin around the eye and rejuvenates the eyes.
Anti- wrinkle treatment

– You can see fine lines around your eyes or eyelid folds these are signs of permanent wrinkles. Treat them with cucumber in initial stage. Rub the slice of cucumber gently around the eyes, Cucumber has substance called phytochemical. This will cause tightening of collagen in the skin and firm up outer layer. You will get rid of wrinkles around the eyes within a month.

You can use cucumber in three ways-

• Cut the slices of fresh cool cucumber and put it on the eyes.
• Extract the juice out of cucumber, and then soak the cotton balls in juice and apply around your eyes.
• Grate the cucumber and make its paste. Apply paste around the eyes.
Allow it to dry for 5-10 minutes and you can see the difference within a month. Along with this include cucumber in your diet.

All these benefits have made this traditional fruit staple in the beauty world. Eat and apply to reap double benefits.

Burst of nutrition for eyes!! Munch it!!







Do you wear sunglasses to protect your eyes? Do you wear contacts? You will do all possible things to keep your eyes safe and perfect, but you fail to take proper diet. The food you eat provides essential nutrients, vitamins which are required for eyes. Food nourishes your eyes. It keeps your eyes healthy and improves vision.

Here is the list of foods you must include in your diet

BLUEBERRIES
Fruit rich in antioxidants, works well for overall eye health. It is known to reduce the risk of cataract.

GREEN LEAFY VEGETABLES
These are known as nutritional powerhouse. It has vitamin C, Carotene and antioxidants. All this make it very rich to improve vision. The antioxidants present act as sunscreen and protect eyes from UV Rays.

BLACK CURRANT
It takes edge over various foods as it contains anthocyanin in high amount which supports eye health. Do include it in your diet.

FISH
It contains Omega 3 Fatty acids; it protects retinal function which is light sensitive part of eye.

RAW EGGS
Eating raw eggs is beneficial over cooked one because antioxidants get damaged when heated. So start eating!

CARROT AND SWEET POTATOES
Carotene is major nutrient found in both. It helps to protect retina and improves the vision.

Pick the right food for you and maintain good eye health!!

5 Tips to relax your eyes and improve eyesight






Do you have problem in recognizing someone’s face? Do you have fuzzy vision? Do you have trouble in passing thread from needle? Is that reading from blackboard has become an obstacle for you?

It’s the time…. You should stop taking your eyes for granted!!

Eyes is the most precious and delicate part ofour body. Your continuous working on computer or reading books can decrease your vision and put stress on it.

You can improve your eyesight just by practicing simple exercises and you need not to depend on contacts or glasses anymore. This is one of the fastest methods to improve your vision naturally. Eye exercises will relax and nourish your eyes.
Follow these simple exercises

• Continuously look something at distance like a mirror on the wall for 5 – 10 seconds, at interval of 30 minutes. This will improve your focus at distant objects by stimulating the nutrients flow inside the eyes andit will relax your eyes and prevent the strain from focusing at nearby objects like book or computer.

• Hold a pencilat arm’s length and keep it at eye level. Concentrate on the tip of the pencil and move it to and fro as well as front and back.Hold it 10 inches away from your face and focus on the tip. Do this slowly and focus on the tip of the pencil. Repeat it several times for about 5 minutes. This will improve your concentration and reduces the strain.

• To relax the eye muscles do simple eye rolling exercise. Rotate your eyes in clockwise and anti-clockwise direction for 10 seconds each for 5 minutes. This will rejuvenate your eyes and improves your eyesight.

• Massage your eyes after exercising. Massage under your eyes as well asover your eyebrows. This will relax your eye muscles and increase the blood circulation.

• After exercise and massage, rub your palms together and put it gently over your eyes. Heat of your palms will release the strain and make your eyes healthy.

If you want to improve your eyesight naturally, then follow these quick and simple exercises. And say bye-bye to your glasses!!

Types of Diabetic Retinopathy






Diabetic retinopathy is an eye condition which occurs when diabetes damages the tiny blood vessels in the retina. Did you know that diabetes can affect your eyes? It can cause the loss of vision when it starts affecting your retina. At bud stage, small fine blood clots develop on the retina followed by hazy white spots. Retinopathy can be easily cured and reversed in initial stages.

In many cases, patients have blurred vision due to diabetic retinopathy. But the problem is diabetic retinopathy does not have symptoms to warn the patient early. By the time it is detected, it will be quite late. Early detection and balanced blood sugar levels are essential to keep retinopathy under control. Diabetic patients should be screened to detect the problem annually or every six months. It is more prevalent in children suffering from type 1 diabetes, it is also found among adults with type 2 diabetes.

There are two types of diabetic retinopathy
Nonproliferative Diabetic Retinopathy (NPDR)

Nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) is the earliest stage of diabetic retinopathy. In this damaged blood vessels in the retina begin to leak extra fluid and small amounts of blood into the eye. In some cases, cholesterol or other fats from the blood leak into the retina.

Nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy has 3 stages-

1. Mild nonproliferative retinopathy
This is first stage in which there is small areas of balloon-like swelling in the retina’s tiny blood vessels.

2. Moderate nonproliferative retinopathy
This is second stage where some blood vessels that nourish the retina are blocked.

3. Severe nonproliferative retinopathy
in third stage many more blood vessels are blocked, depriving several areas of the retina of their blood supply. These areas send signals to the body to grow new blood vessels for nourishment.
Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy (PDR)

Proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) mainly occurs when most of the blood vessels in the retina close, preventing enough blood flow. Signals are sent by retina when it is devoid of nutrition; this triggers signals and leads to formation of new blood vessels. This is called neovascularization. These new blood vessels are abnormal and do not supply the retina with proper blood flow. The new blood vessels are often accompanied by scar tissue that may cause the retina to wrinkle or detach. Moreover, if these blood vessels leak out blood, severe vision loss and even blindness can result.

It is essential to go for regular eye checkup time to time. People having high blood sugar level are at risk of developing diabetic retinopathy. Regular screening will help in detecting the stage and early detection may help in better treatment and reversing the affect of diabetic retinopathy.


Ayurveda For Improving Eyesight
There are various methods in Ayurveda to improve eyesight. If proper care for eye is not take, it can result into various eye conditions such as age related macular degeneration and cataracts, which is a leading cause of blindness in the world. 

The Ayurvedic name for defective eyesight is ‘Drishti Dosha’. Alochaka Pitta is responsible for maintaining eyesight and it weakens with age. Proper caring for the eyes is one preventative measure that helps.

Causes of Defective Eyesight: - Prolonged constipation and nervous debility can cause Drishti dosha. Common cold can also lead to eyesight defects. Stress , Diabetes, Excessive smoking, alcohol intake,caffienated drinks are also responsible for defective eyesight .

Ayurvedic Diet for improving Eyesight:
- Consuming good amount of apple and grapes helps in improving your eyesight.
- Carrots have good quantity of vitamin A which proves to be one of the useful natural treatment for enhancing your eyesight.
- Cucumber juice does wonders for your eyesight as it tries to improve it immensely.
- Addition of spinach in your diet is beneficial.It purifies your blood, increases the hemoglobin and improves your eyesight.
- Turnip, fresh milk, cheese, butter, tomatoes, lettuce, cabbage, soya beans, green peas, oranges and dates are good source of vitamin A include them in your diet.
- Almond is ideal for eyes; it strengthens the vision, and calm mental stress. Take 1-2 t. a day with warm milk or sweet orange juice.
- You can mix some cardamom seeds with 1 tablespoon of honey. Eat daily.
- Consuming blueberry juice also considered to be very useful for your eyes.

Ayurvedic Herbs for improving Eyesight:
Amla - Extract the juice of fresh amla and drink 20 ml twice daily.
Asparagus - Mix 1 teaspoon of powdered asparagus in half teaspoon of honey. Take the mixture twice daily with warm cow’s milk.
Bhringraj - When Bhringraj herb or amla herb oil or paste is applied over eyes, they help in improving eye vision.
Black pepper- Black pepper powder should be mixed with honey o improve eyesight.
Ghee - Rub a small amount of ghee on soles of the feet to improve eye vision.
Garlic - The juice extracted from fresh garlic is used for regaining lost eyesight.
Rose petals - Freshly extracted juice of properly cleaned rose petals, which can be used both internally and externally for improving eye vision.
Liquorice - Take approximately half to 1 teaspoon of liquorice powder with cow’s milk twice daily. This powder can also be mixed with ghee or honey.
Triphala - Triphala is an important medicine for eye health, especially blurred vision or to prevent the development of cataract.

Triphala Benefits for Eyes:

• Triphala strengthens the muscles of the eyes and improves eyesight. It is helpful in curing various eye problems like cataracts, glaucoma, progressive myopia, and conjunctivitis. It is also used to wash the eyes, in order to reduce their redness. Triphala is very helpful in treating impaired vision. 
• Triphala Ghrita : is indicated in diseases of eyes. Useful in conjunctivitis and many other eye troubles. Triphala nourishes the nerves and tissues of the eyeball, including the eye lens. Cow’s ghee balances the vitiation of the vata dosha and normalizes it. 
• Triphala Eye Wash : Put a teaspoonful of Triphala powder in a glass of water( use of distilled water is preferable) , and let it stay overnight. Strain the water and wash the eyes with it.

Exercises for Eyesight Improvement:
-- Close both the eyes very tightly by shutting the lids firmly. Open them suddenly which allows you to feel the stretch. Once open arch your brows and stretch your face. Repeat this several times a day.
-- Look as far as possible and inhale then look down as far as possible and exhale. Blink your eyes more than dozen times. Do the same procedure by turning to your left and right then diagonally up to left, down to right, up to right and down to left followed by rapid blinking.
-- Rotate your eyes in all the directions. Slowly and steadily concentrate one eye at a time. Do this exercise more than dozen times and try doing this with your eyes shut.
-- By using palming which can be stated as a revised version of the thousand-year-old yoga tradition known was Hatha Yoga. It relieves strain and stress from your mind and eyes which needs the required break. For this you have to warm your hands by rubbing them together vigorously. Once it’s warm cover the eye without touching the eyelids. This relaxes the nerves and helps in blood circulation.
-- You can also try sunning which means to use sun's light for your eyes. Move your head from side to side for the heat to benefit the eyes. After a while try stretching the eyes to allow more sunlight to your eyes. Directly looking at the sun is never good. It is great method to reduce light sensitivity.
-- Perform Netra Basti which is bathing your eyes with clarified butter to reduce eye strain and to improve eyesight.

Ayurvedic Solutions for Dry, Tired Eyes

If you were to ask your friends how many times a week they did something to improve the health of their eyes, they'd probably say "none." Most people pay attention to their eyes only if they have a problem. Yet the hours spent watching TV and working on computers take their toll on eye health.

According to Maharishi Ayurveda, the eyes are one of the most important organs in the body. All five elements play a role in maintaining eye health. Earth (prithivi) governs the muscular part of the eye, fire (tejas) rules the blood vessels, air (vayu) governs the color, water (apu) dominates the white area, and space (akasha) controls the tear ducts and channels.

The eye is also governed by Alochaka Pitta, a subdosha of Pitta which becomes less balanced as we age. That's why it's important to care for your eyes throughout life.

In the same way that Maharishi Ayurveda recommends preventing future health problems while you're still healthy, here are some simple things you can do to prevent eye disease and improve your vision.

Healthy Eye Habits

In general, you don't want to stare continuously at fixed objects in the distance. Blink periodically and look away at short intervals to keep from straining the eyes. At the same time, staring at the TV close up is one of the main causes of myopia (nearsightedness), so watch TV from at least ten feet away--not too near and not too far.

Proper light is another factor in eye health, just like your mother told you. Avoid reading or working in either dim light or in bright sunlight. Staring fixedly in the distance or close-up is especially harmful in bright sunlight, especially if you're around water or reflecting objects. Wear sunglasses to protect your eyes in bright sunlight, but not to drive or read with, as this will cause strain.

One of the biggest enemies of the eyes is lack of sleep. If you have a tendency to stay up too late, try going to bed just fifteen minutes earlier. Gradually bring your bedtime into alignment with the ayurvedic routine--before 10:00. If you wake up in the night and can't fall back asleep, try Deep Rest.

Morning Eye RoutineEach morning upon waking (either before or after using the toilet), fill your mouth with water and hold for a few seconds with your eyes closed. Spit it out and repeat 2-3 times.
Splash your eyes and face with cool or slightly warm water 10-15 times. Repeat again in the evening when you return from work or school.

Caution: Never use hot or icy water on the eyes. Also avoid abrupt temperature changes. For instance, if you're hot and sweaty, wait 10-15 minutes until your body adjusts before splashing cool water on your face and eyes.

Yoga for Your Eyes
Yogic eye exercises, if done daily, are a gentle and effective way to prevent vision problems for developing. They are especially recommended for children, but adults can help prevent farsightedness from developing in middle age, and even people who wear glasses can prevent their vision from getting worse.

If you already do yoga regularly, continue with your normal routine because most yogic exercises have a good effect on the eyes.

Yogic Eye Exercises (for strengthening eye muscles and releasing stress)
Sit in the Sukhasana (easy pose) with your legs comfortably crossed and your spine, neck and head in a straight line. Look directly to the front at eye-level and breathe normally. This is the position of readiness.
Move your eyes upward to the ceiling and stay for two seconds. Look downwards and stay for two seconds. Close your eyes for two seconds.
Look toward the right side, as far as your eye will see, for two seconds. Look to the left side for two seconds. Look to the front again.
Close your eyes for 6-8 seconds.
This completes one round. Start with 2-3 rounds and increase up to four rounds.

Palming (for releasing stress from the eyes)
Rub both palms together quickly for 8-10 seconds. This friction creates a mild heat.
Close the eyes and gently place the left palm over the left eye and the right palm over the right eye for one minute. Do not press the eyeballs with the palms, just let them gently rest there. Breathe in and out slowly to release stress.
Repeat 2-3 times.

Other poses that strengthen the eyes include the Bhujangasana (snake pose), Surya Namaskara (sun salutes), and Shavasana (rest pose).
Stop Computer Fatigue

If you have to stare at a computer screen up close for your job, or spend long hours doing any detailed close-up work, use these tips to banish eye fatigue.
Every thirty minutes, look away from the computer and palm your eyes (see above). You can also get up for a short break, stretch or make a phone call.
Dampen two wads of cotoonwool with pure Organic Rose Water and place over closed eyes. Relax for 10 minutes with the pads over your eyes. Organic Rose Water has a cooling effect and is especially helpful for tired eyes. You can palm your eyes afterwards.

Choose Eye-Healthy Foods and Drinks

In general, follow your individual diet for your constitution and imbalances as recommended by Maharishi Ayurveda. But to strengthen your vision, or if you face particular eyestrain, add stewed apple, sprouted chick-peas, and raw carrot (an excellent source of Vitamin A) to your diet.

For example, for breakfast eat a stewed apple and 1/4 cup chick-peas which have been sprouted for two days. For lunch, eat a salad with shredded white daikon radish and one carrot, flavored with salt and lemon juice. You can also add cucumber, tomato or lettuce to taste. Vegetable soups, green leafy vegetables, and wheat bread are nourishing for the eyes. Dinner can include the same cooked foods, only less quantity.

Drink plenty of water throughout the day. Constipation, or internal dryness, has an adverse effect on the eyes. But stay away from caffeinated drinks. Even though people drink coffee to release stress, it increases toxicity and dehydrates the body. Try substituting Raja's Cup, which is a traditional ayurvedic beverage that stimulates the mind, is a powerful antioxidant, and diminishes stress, toxins and the craving for caffeine.

Almonds can be used to make a nourishing drink for the eyes. Grind 1/2 c. each of almonds, raw sugar and anise seeds and add 1/2-1 t. a day to a cup of warm milk.

Another excellent ayurvedic remedy for improving vision is to remove the seeds from one pod of black cardomom and combine with 1 tablespoon of honey. Chew thoroughly. This strengthens vision if taken every day.

Two excellent supplements to nourish the eyes are Premium Amla Berry and Organic Digest Tone. Both are rasayanas (health-giving ayurvedic elixirs) on their own, and are also special rasayanas for the eyes. Take one tablet of Amla Berry two times a day and 1-2 tablets of Triphala twice a day.
Solutions for Dry, Tired Eyes

If your eyes feel tired and dry, or are filled with crusty matter when you wake up, this is due to a disturbance in Vata dosha. Here are some ways to balance

Vata dosha and refresh and lubricate your eyes.
When you wake up in the morning, splash your eyes and face with slightly warm water 10-15 times.
After returning from work or school, wash your feet in warm water and massage them with Vata Massage Oil.

Drink fennel seed water each day. Boil 1/2 t. fennel seed in a cup of water, and boil it back until reduced to half. Sip when warm.

Solutions for Tense, Bloodshot Eyes

Tense, bloodshot eyes are caused by an imbalance in Pitta dosha, and can be triggered by stress, exposure to smoke, pollution, fatigue, or insufficient or irregular sleep.

Apply Youthful Skin Eye Gel to the area around the eyes at night. This provides natural support for the delicate skin around the eyes, and has a Chakshushya effect (which means that it gives health and longevity to the eye area). It also increases soma and balances agni, and helps remove wrinkles and dark circles.

See more at: http://www.mapi.com/ayurvedic-knowledge/miscellaneous-ayurvedic-articles/ayurvedic-eye-care.html#gsc.tab=0