We recommend you do the eye health exercises in the Better Eye Health Program™ once a day, five days a week to start. If you want to do these exercises twice a day please do. No harm. Some people find these exercises relaxing, and will repeat them if stressed, or before bed to help sleep. If you have a lot of extra time in your day to devote to eye health, we recommend adding other healthy activities like walking, yoga, Pilates, Qi gong etc. Anything you do to benefit your overall health will benefit the health of your eyes.

Caffeine is a complex drug. It can both decrease and increase blood flow to the eyes and brain. For most, the stimulation caused by caffeine leads to an increase in sympathetic activity in our nervous system, which tends to decrease blood flow to the eyes and brain.

Taurine is an amino acid critical for rebuilding cells in the retina. It is often used to support healthy sleep. If you feel that taurine is affecting your sleep, please consult with your practitioner, as it is more likely that there is another explanation to be found.

Modern LED flatscreen TVs and computer screens and the new LED lighting that is now widely used all cause a particular type of strain in the eyes. Bright screens and lighting cause some strain, but LED lighting can actually be harmful to the eyes. Harmful radiation comes from the blue LEDs found in all computer screens and LED-light bulbs. Unlike older incandescent bulbs and mini fluorescent bulbs and older cathode ray tube computer monitors, the blue LEDs emit high frequency and high-energy blue spectrum light has been shown to damage the chemical 11-cis-retinal in the eye and the enzymes that manufacture 11-cis-retinal. 11-cis-retinal is the chemical that allows us to see. The solution is to wear orange or nicotine colored tinted glasses that block the blue rays, or adjust the output of the computer monitor to decrease the blue radiation.

The ideas many people have about the need for bilberry for eye health are, to put it mildly, pretty confused. Bilberries are simply a wild variety of blueberries. The frozen wild blueberries or organic blueberries in our local Trader Joe's food store have a nutritional profile very similar to bilberries. A healthy food, but nothing about the nutritional value of bilberries or blueberries is unique. Some of the confusion comes from claims the English made during World War II that they had developed a "secret weapon" to allow their pilots to see at night, and to bomb the German army in the dead of night. After the war, it was revealed that the "secret weapon" was bilberry jam, and that the whole story was an elaborate propaganda scheme to put fear into German soldiers and citizens. 90% of the people who do the full Better Eye Health Program™ see significant and lasting improvement in their vision, and they are not taking bilberry, so we know it is not essential for eye health or eye healing.

Everyone needs DHA, and most of us need more than we are getting. DHA is one of the essential fatty acids, meaning human beings need to eat it, since they cannot make it. DHA is an omega-3 essential fatty acid with a carbon chain containing 20 carbon atoms. (The "docosa" in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is the Greek word for 20.) We get DHA directly from eating algae, or from eating things that exist in the food chain that begins with algae, like krill and fish. Most of the omega-3 essential fatty acids in our diet come from plant sources, and these have a carbon skeleton with 16 or 18 carbon atoms, i.e. linolenic acid. Human beings can convert smaller chain omega-3 fatty acids to the long-chain omega-3 fatty acids like DHA, but for every milligram of DHA we make in this internal conversion process, we need to eat 1000 mg of a shorter chain essential fatty acid. One quarter of the weight of our retina and brain is DHA! If you are trying to regenerate damaged tissues in your eyes, eat more DHA regularly.

If you have a degenerative retinal condition like macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa or Stargardt disease, then there is a decrease in healthy blood flow to the retina as the degeneration progresses. If your intention is to regenerate your retina and restore vision, you need more than supplements. But, supplements like ginkgo biloba that gently open the circulation in the small to medium size vessels can help in combination with other therapies. Remember, no one supplement or combination of supplements has ever been shown to stop degeneration in the eyes or restore vision. But supplements, together with therapies like microcurrent stimulation, acupressure (needleless acupuncture), eye health exercises, color therapy, stress management, improved nutrition and detoxification together can regenerate damaged tissues and restore vision.

Taurine is an amino acid the body uses to build proteins and enzymes. The highest concentrations of taurine in human beings are found in the eye and the heart. Animal proteins are the best foods to eat to find taurine. Taurine is classified as a "conditionally essential" amino acid, meaning the human body can make some from other amino acids. But if you need to heal and regenerate cells in your eye (or heart) you need to take in extra taurine in your food and supplements. If you are vegetarian, please take extra taurine. Hemp seed has good amounts of taurine. We discuss our recommendations for taurine supplements derived from plant sources.In this episode the topic is the product Taurine by Thorne Research. Taurine is an essential amino acid that we don’t always receive through our food or other nutrition intake. We need it but our body does not produce it naturally. Having a good strong source of it helps, once again, to make sure your body has all it needs to the job of healing and repair. It needs all the building materials otherwise it will make a very poor house. Dr. Miller explores in detail this important supplement and how to absorb it most effectively in your routine.

DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) is a long-chain omega-3 essential fatty acid. The word "essential" in human nutrition means you need to eat it, since you cannot make it. The cells of the brain and retina are 50% fatty acids by weight, and half of that is DHA. Half! This means one quarter of your brain and retina by weight is DHA. You can see where we are going with this. If your intention is to heal and regenerate damaged tissues in your retina, a critical raw material your body will need to grow new cells is DHA. You need DHA. We discussed the minimum daily dose studies recommend, and some good sources.In this episode the topic is the product Vitality Boost HA, as well as other mineral supplements. We often lack in essential minerals and even if we eat mineral rich foods it often is not enough to keep our levels up. Dr. Miller goes into some depth regarding the types of minerals we need and how to build a working knowledge of where to find what you need.

Since the 1950s, ophthalmologists have done the following: (1.) When they make a new diagnosis of macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa or Stargardt disease, they tell the person that they are very sorry, but they have nothing to offer, and their vision will continue to deteriorate. (2.) Before the person leaves the doctors office, they are given a bottle of eye vitamins and told, "Here, take these, they may slow down your vision loss." The AREDS study (age-related eye disease study) was funded by a vitamin manufacturer to allow them to advertise their vitamins as a support for people with macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa, Stargardt disease and other serious eye problems. You need vitamins, and you can do SO much better than the products marketed as AREDS vitamins. We describe the colloidal vitamins we recommend, and why we like them.

In this episode the topic is the product Ortho Liquid Multi by Protocol. As with minerals, vitamins are often lacking in our daily diet to the levels that help us heal and stay balanced. Making sure you have a well balanced multi-vitamin, especially one that is liquid for better absorption, is another key to helping your eyes and body become stronger.