Cataracts

Cataracts

Some time back, I published a magazine article entitled "Catnip and Cataracts," which explored the possibility that the herb most cats find intoxicating might also help prevent the common--and potentially blinding--eye disease. It was a speculative piece, and I played it that way, not making any big promises.

This notion is still speculative, but as time has passed, I've become increasingly persuaded that catnip is a three-star herb for cataract prevention. And I think several other herbs can help as well.

I should say right away that herbs can't cure cataracts. This condition is serious, and anyone with even the first hint of cataracts should definitely be under a doctor's care. But I do believe that herbs can help prevent them.

Clouded Vision

Cataracts are cloudy areas that develop in the normally clear lens of the eye. An estimated 20 percent of the world's population, mostly the elderly, has cataracts. Some four million Americans have sight-impairing cataracts, and at least 40,000 have become legally blind before receiving surgical treatment.

In the United States, cataracts afflict around 5 percent of those ages 52 to 64, 18 percent of those ages 65 to 74 and half of those 75 and older. But the faint beginnings of the condition can be detected in about three-quarters of Americans.

The mainstream medical treatment for cataracts is surgery. The clouded lens is removed from the eye, and an artificial one is inserted. More than 500,000 cataract operations are performed each year. They usually restore reasonably good vision, but they cost the nation a fortune--more than $3.5 billion a year.

Cloud Factors

Scientists used to think that cataracts were caused by old age, along with the bad luck of being susceptible to the condition. Then researchers noticed that certain groups are unusually likely to get cataracts. Smokers face a much greater than normal risk of developing the condition. Those with diabetes or heavy metal poisoning and people who have been using steroids for a long time are also at increased risk.

Now we know why. What clouds the eye lens is the damage from oxidation, a biochemical process set in motion when a highly reactive form of oxygen changes within our cells. Smoking and other risk factors all increase oxidative damage. According to one study, for instance, a group of women who smoked 30 cigarettes a day showed a 60 percent greater risk of developing cataracts.

Can anything prevent cataracts? You bet--antioxidants.

Antioxidants are chemical substances that prevent oxidative damage by neutralizing free radicals, the renegade oxygen molecules that are so damaging to the body. Among the best antioxidants is vitamin A, which we get from food in the form of carotenoids like beta-carotene. Other antioxidants include vitamins C and E, the vitamin-like flavonoids, and the mineral selenium.

Several studies have shown that diets rich in vitamins C and E help prevent cataracts. For example, one study showed that taking 1,000 milligrams of vitamin C a day can slow the development of cataracts. Which brings me back to my magazine article about catnip. Its leaves, and the leaves of many mint relatives like rosemary, contain generous amounts of vitamins C and E, some of which can be extracted in catnip tea or a mixed mint tea like my Cataractea.

In addition to antioxidants, the trace minerals magnesium and manganese appear to play a role in cataract prevention. Enzymes containing these minerals help dispose of proteins damaged by oxidation that contribute to eye clouding. Catnip and the other mints contain both of these essential trace minerals.

Finally, catnip and other mints are also rich in flavonoids, and several studies have now shown how important flavonoids are.

Although flavonoids have only recently been praised for their properties, they were identified decades ago. Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, the researcher who first discovered vitamin C in 1928, was also a champion of flavonoids. He called them vitamin P.

Green Pharmacy for Cataracts

There are a number of herbs that can help prevent cataracts.

Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus). As far back as World War I, British fliers munched bilberries before missions to sharpen their vision. Bilberry has many botanical relatives, including blueberry, cranberry and huckleberry, and similar chemicals occur in other fruits such as blackberry, raspberry, grape, plum and wild cherry. All have reputations for aiding vision.

Modern research shows that these fruits contain compounds known as anthocyanosides, which do indeed contribute to visual acuity. A group of Italian researchers showed that a mixture of anthocyanosides from bilberry plus vitamin E halted the progression of lens clouding in a remarkable 97 percent of people with early-stage cataracts.

Naturopaths recommend taking a standardized bilberry extract (containing 25 percent anthocyanidin) at a dose of 80 to 160 milligrams three times a day. This extract should be available wherever high-quality herbal formulations are sold.

I prefer a cup of blueberries, which are more readily available than bilberries. German herbalists suggest a tea made with two to four tablespoons of crushed blueberries.

Catnip (Nepeta cataria). I'm not yet ready to say that catnip tea is guaranteed to prevent cataracts. But I think that two cups of catnip (or mint) tea a day should significantly reduce your likelihood of developing this problem.

Hot catnip tea in winter and iced catnip tea in summer are quite tasty. In addition to helping prevent cataracts, this herb is a mild tranquilizer, so not only will you stop worrying about cataracts quite as much, you'll also reduce your worries in general.

Catnip Catnip, a member of the mint family, releases a distinctive aroma when it's made into an herbal tea.

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis). A mint relative of catnip, rosemary contains more than a dozen antioxidants. It also contains at least four other known cataract fighters. That's why I include it in my Cararactea. I'd also suggest using rosemary liberally in cooking. It's especially good on roasted potatoes and is often used in chicken dishes.

Brazil nut (Bertholettia excelsa). These nuts contain generous amounts of vitamin E, plus the essential trace mineral selenium, which boosts vitamin E's antioxidant benefits. Selenium levels in the eye lenses of people with cataracts are a mere 15 percent of normal, suggesting that selenium supplementation or the selenium from Brazil nuts might help prevent cataracts. At least, it might slow their progression. The average Brazil nut contains the Daily Value for selenium.

Carrot (Daucus carota). There's a fair amount of folklore that carrots are good for vision. As it turns out, it's more than folklore. One researcher at the pharmaceutical firm Hoffmann-La Roche cites more than 30 studies providing evidence that carotenoids help prevent what he calls the three Cs: cancer, cardiovascular disease and cataracts. Carotenoids (including beta-carotene) are the compounds that give carrots their orange color.

This conclusion is supported by a decade-long Harvard study indicating that by getting 50 milligrams of carotenoids every other day, you can significantly reduce the risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease and cataracts.

It would take seven good-size carrots to provide 50 milligrams of carotenoids. But if you don't like munching on carrots, whip up some of my Candied Carotenoids. Or simply eat more orange, yellow and dark green fruits and vegetables, all of which are high in carotenoids.

Onion (Allium cepa). Onion is one of our best sources of quercetin, a compound that has been shown in studies to help prevent cataracts in people with diabetes. While I suspect that it works for all kinds of cataracts, no research yet confirms this.

In any case, it's a good idea to use more onions. When you make stews and soups, leave the onion skin on while cooking to allow as much quercetin as possible to make its way into the food. Discard the skin before serving the dish.

Purslane (Portulaca oleracea). Purslane is high in all of the nutrients that help prevent cataracts--vitamin C, vitamin E, carotenoids and other potent antioxidants, notably one known as glutathione. Just a half-cup of fresh purslane contains healthy amounts of beta-carotene and vitamins C and E.

Fresh purslane can be awfully hard to come by if you don't grow it yourself. If you have a garden, however, you might consider including it in your next planting. I recently transplanted a thick bed of purslane seedlings to the main part of my garden. I'll eat it in soups and salads or like spinach for the rest of the year.

Turmeric (Curcuma lon-ga). In addition to good amounts of vitamins C and E and carotenoids, turmeric contains many other antioxidants. Turmeric is a key ingredient in many curry spice blends. Experiment with it in cooking.

Capers (Capparis spinosa). My own research at the U.S. Department of Agriculture with molecular biologist Stephen Beckstrom-Sternberg, Ph.D., shows that capers are a very rich source of cataract-preventing compounds known as aldose-reductose inhibitors. Use capers whenever you want extra zing in cooking.

Ginger (Zingiber officinale). Ginger is another good source
of antioxidants. It also makes my Cataractea tastier.