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What Is Arterial Hardening?

Arterial hardening is a Systemic (whole body) medical problem that is "seen" through the eyes. It is a common cause of loss of vision as well as a cause of Stroke and Heart Attack. There are two major different types of hardening that we will differentiate briefly. The first type (arteriolar sclerosis) is a generalized change in which the entire length of arteries appears narrowed and stiffened. The second type (atherosclerotic plaque) is a focal or localized blockage in which narrowings are visible in small segements of the arteries. In either case, blockage can lead to serious consequences both in general health and in vision loss.

Symptoms (Frequently There Are None! In rare instances the ones below may be noticed.):

Intermittent loss of vision (vision black outs)
Episodes of dizziness
Cold extremities (hands and feet)

Detection:

They say the eyes are the windows to the soul and that may be true but in our office they are the windows to your health. We frequently use DRI (Digtal Retinal Imaging) to allow us to see into your blood vessels and into your health. See the picture below:

In the image on the left of this text you will see that the ligher colored aretery has a white streak down its middle (the narrowing of the arteries wall). Where it crosses over the dark vein (see arrow) the vein bends on an angle off its path (do to being compressed by the stiff artery). In addtion you may note that the vein Narrows to a point on approaching and leaving the arteries crossing. This is where blood flow is restricted. If the restriction is great enough, the person has a stroke, heart attack or other similar problem.

This is a DRI where we can take the sample image displayed above from. This image is a DRI of one of our patient's eyes. When viewed in the powerful computer imager, we can see many details that routine testing would not allow. The DRI imager is perhaps the single most important advance in preventive holisitc eye care at our office.

Causes:

To this day defining the exact cause is controversial. It is very likely that a combination of factors are the cause and no single one can be defined. It is also very unlikely that taking ANY pill will (at this time) reverse or pervent this disease without side effects that are even more dangerous.

Excessive carbohydrates in diet (particularly refined products such as white flour and sweets)
Hormones and other unnatural substance added to animal feed.
Red meat and milk products - from cows that are fed the common (fattening) artificial diet in America. This means cows fed things like corn, soy and other things they do not naturally eat.
Chicken & Eggs - from poultry that was fed an artificial diet including hormones, soy and corn, while living in cages where they get no exercise or sunlight.
"Snack foods" such as corn chips, potato chips, cracker etc... especially those cooked in or having hydrogenated oils added to their composition.
Lack Aerobic Exercise: Most people need to walk a minimum of 1 hour Every Day to stay reasonably fit.
Lack of sufficient fiber in your diet
SMOKING - a major cause.

Medications That Can Promote Arterial Damage. (None Currently)

Allopathic Treatment (traditional medicine)

The common traditional medical treament is drugs like Mevacor (Stain Drugs) which are supposed to lower cholesterol levels. Most of these do lower cholesterol on tests but there is good evidence that they do not extend longevity! They may infact, cause many serious side effects. For this reason it is very desirable that you make all the efforts you can to control your own cholesterol. In addtion, the total cholesterol number is NOT as important as you cholesterol ratio. For further information from Dr Mercola click here ==> Total Cholesterol Almost Always Irrelevant to Heart Disease Risk

Complementary - HolisticTreatment: (This approach is offered with the allopathic approach especially when there is the danger of vision loss from currently compromised leaky vessels).

If you are not sure which products you need, please feel free to email us your questions. CLICK HERE TO EMAIL-US

"CRITICAL" - PRODUCTS (or lifestyle changes) ARE THOSE WHICH ARE ESSENTIAL TO GOOD RESULTS:

Critical: Nordic Naturals Cod Liver Oil peach or orange flavor is in liquid form. . Omega-3 fatty acids help improve circulation, integrity of blood vessels, proper brain functioning, flexibility and permeability of cell membranes, and helps protect the retina's photoreceptor cells. Recommended dosage is 1-2 teaspoonfuls once a day.
Critical: Read And Follow: "The South Beach Diet", "The Atkins Program", or other respected low carb lifeStyle. This will help you control many of the factors that cause arterial wall hardening.
Critical: If You Smoke Seek Every Available Means To Quit: - Smoking will nearly guranteed you will suffer many seriouos illnesses and many of them will relate to blood vessel damage. As one reasearcher put it: "Smokers do not cost the health care system much more than average people because they die much earlier and so cost less to care for.day.
Critical: Learn how to purchase better quality food: (Very Important) ]

a) All red meats should be from ogranically rasied animals that are GRASS FED. Cows raised on a corn, soy, hormones etc., are fat overweight and will transfer their illness to you! They are fed this unnatural diet because it makes them weigh MUCH more at slaughter and are therefore more profitable.
b) Chicken should also be organically raised and fed a natrual diet (so they don't look like the chickens filled with yellow globs of fat that you see in your supermarket. Look for Murray's or Bell and Evans chickens, in most good supermarkets.
c) Fish though good for your cholesterol, is now tainted with mercury. Only sardines are truly safe as they live in the ocean to short a time to be badly contaminated. There are sources of fish that are safer than others and you should become knowledgeable about this.

Things To STOP

Stop drinking caffeine and sodas, avoid aspartame in any form. Avoid any modified oils and fats such as Hydrogenated oils.
STOP smoking in any form as it damages eye tissues and is a major cause of macular degeneration.
Avoid MSG in all foods.
Limit Alcohol intake.
If you are taking allopathic medications, try to eliminate as many as possible with your doctors help!
Lack Of Exercise: Aerobic exercise is essential. Consider 1 hours exercise 5 - 7 days a week This may be walking, jogging or any other form that enhances circulation. Many people achieve this by walking much of their trip, to work, not taking elevators (using the stairs) and walking to and talking with people instead of sending emails (more fun too!).
Stress: Stress reduction is very helpful. Consider meditation, Yoga or even simply watching videos such as comedies, before sleep.

LifeStyle Changes Click here for VERY IMPORTANT information that is KEY to your staying healthy and keeping your eyesight.