In their book Introducing Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Joseph O’Conner and John Seymour sum up NLP this way.

 If NLP were ever to be presented in a three minute seminar, it would go something like this.  The presenter would walk on and say, “Ladies and gentlemen, to be successful in life you need only remember three things.

  “Firstly, know what you want; have a clear idea of your outcome in any situation.

  “Secondly, be alert and keep your senses open so that you notice what you are getting.

  “Thirdly, have the flexibility to keep changing what you do until you get what you want.”

  He would then write on the board:

Outcome

Acuity

Flexibility

 and leave.

  End of seminar.

 To apply NLP to our vision improvement goals we would start with these basic steps, but I would recommend reading a book on NLP to take advantage of all the information that has been learned through NLP about the way we operate.

 Outcome, the first of the three steps, is of course your goal.  The most popular books on goal setting all state that to achieve a goal you first need to be very specific. Stating your goal very clearly and in the positive will help you when you are ready for the next step of checking to see what you are getting.

   That is all Acuity means, just checking to see what you are getting.  In NLP you are given many useful tools in which to do this.   Learning about sensory awareness and filters is a good example. Filters govern the way we see the world around us.  Our beliefs, and perceptions color our filters.  With NLP you can fine-tune your filters to pick up the information you want.  NLP will help you to understand how your senses and feelings work, allowing you a heightened awareness.

 And finally Flexibility which, is, I think the most important step.  You need to have the flexibility to keep changing what you are doing until you are getting what you want.  If you get to this step and don't adjust your controls you may end up frustrated and give up because what you are doing is not working.  Sometimes all that is needed is to do the same thing in a relaxed manner.

 There is huge storehouse of information in the system we call NLP. I have only touched on it briefly in the hopes of perking your interest.  Below you will find a link to Amazon’s list of NLP books.  Take a look in your local library first you may find one there.

 Click here to see Amazon's NLP Books

Cataracts

by Gary Null

A Model of the Aging Process
There's no denying that aging is a major issue in our society. Who wouldn't want to declare war on the aging process and prevent it from affecting their lives in destructive ways? For that reason, theories about how aging takes place always prove interesting. But much of this scientific work - including the theories on aging discussed here is as yet unproven. In the coming years, further research may bolster the underlying premises of these and similar theories.

In the meantime, the practical aspects of aging continue to plague us, lowering the quality of life for many people in their later years. Rather than leave this discussion at a general and philosophical level, we want to look at how certain nutrients relate to one specific aspect of aging-the formation of cataracts. This type of vision impairment is an excellent model of the aging process; not only is it an extremely important issue among the aged population, but cataracts are a measurable and well-studied problem.

Here, we summarize the work of Paul F. Jacques and Allen Taylor in "Micronutrients and Age-Related Cataracts," which explores the role various nutrients play in reducing the risk of cataracts and protecting against the oxidative processes that contribute to many aspects of the aging process. As Jacques and Taylor point out, senile cataracts are "the leading cause of preventable blindness in the world." Each year, some 400,000 people develop cataracts; in the United States alone, 20% of people between ages 65 and 75 and 45% of those over 75 suffer from cataracts and vision impairment.

As we age, both structural and biochemical events contribute to the formation of cataracts. The epithelial cells of the lens (which transmits and focuses light rays on the retina of the eye) form fiber cells throughout life. These cells start at the lens equator and travel inward. Eventually, say the authors, the old fibers become more dehydrated and compressed in the center of the lens. The gelatin-like substance of the lens has a refraction index that prevents light from scattering. This substance consists of 65% water and 35% protein. According to Jacques and Taylor, changes in the lens will alter the refraction index, allowing more light to scatter and the lens to become clouded. This opacity is called a cataract.

In studying cataracts, then, one must consider the elements that affect the protein in the lens, such as exposure to light, oxygen, the products of normal aging and environmental factors. These factors can cause protein aggregation and precipitation, both of which are linked to a greater level of water insoluble protein in old lenses or those with cataracts. When cataracts form, the process by which protein becomes insoluble seems to be accelerated, say the authors.

A number of risk factors have been associated with senile cataracts, which make up the majority of lens opacities. Among those factors are ultraviolet, infrared, ionizing and microwave radiation. The risk of senile cataracts also has been correlated with demographic factors such as gender, blood pressure, blood sugar, education, occupation and vital capacity.

Beyond those basic risk factors, there is much research data relating the development of cataracts to reduced levels of certain micronutrients, according to Jacques and Taylor. The lens, for example, needs certain enzymes to help protect it against the effects of oxidation, which has been strongly correlated with cataract formation. In the young lens, the antioxidant defense mechanisms will keep free radicals and photooxidation in check. As we age, however, this activity may fall off and lead to the oxidation of lens proteins.

The lens depends on three enzymes for its protection against oxidation: the glutathione redox cycle (which includes tripeptide glutathione, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase), SOD and catalase. SOD, for example, protects the lens against the highly reactive superoxide radical, while catalase may protect the lens from the less reactive hydrogen peroxide.

Glutathione peroxidase, for its part, eliminates hydroperoxide radicals. While glutathione is oxidized in the process, say the authors, it is restored with the help of glutathione reductase. Glutathione also can perform direct free radical-scavenging work and help to prevent the oxidation of proteins and the formation of disulfide bonds, which also contribute to cataracts.

A number of familiar nutrients help to fuel the glutathione enzyme system. These include vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin B2 and selenium. Due to the link between cataracts and the process of oxidation, much of the research in this area has centered on these nutrients because they have antioxidant properties. What follows is a brief summary of experimental and epidemiological evidence that correlates the level of these nutrients with the risk of cataracts:

Vitamin C (ascorbate). This nutrient generates attention, say the authors, because the ascorbate concentration in the lens can be 30 times higher than that of plasma. Compared to normal lens, older lens and lens with cataracts have low ascorbate levels. In six animal studies conducted between 1978 and 1986, ascorbate was found to delay the formation of cataracts or protect the lens against various types of damage, including galactose-induced cataracts, glucocorticoid (which reduces glutathione levels), ultraviolet induced protein damage, photooxidative changes to the lens, and light-induced damage to the lens from photochemically produced superoxide.

Beyond that, two epidemiological studies have found an increased risk of cataracts in people with low ascorbate levels. In one of these studies, for example, researcher J. Robertson compared the risk of senile cataracts among people who took regular ascorbate acid supplements (300 - 600 mg. per day) and those who did not. The cataract risk for supplement users was only 30% of that for non-supplement users.

The authors note, however, that a large study in India reported mixed results on the ascorbate/cataract connection. With a given increase in the plasma ascorbate level, there was a 90% jump in the risk of posterior subcapsular and nuclear cataracts. But at the same time, lower levels of an antioxidant index that factored in plasma ascorbate increased the risk of these same cataracts.

Vitamin E (tocopherol). This nutrient, which is the primary fat-soluble antioxidant, prevents photoperoxidation of the lens lipids. As with other parts of the body, the integrity of the cell membranes in the lens must be preserved. Tocopherol seems to stabilize and protect cell membranes. A number of studies also show that this nutrient will retard cataract-like changes to the lens by various cataractogenic agents, including glucose, galactose, sorbitol, ionizing radiation and steroids and other cataractogenic drugs.

In Robertson's study on the relationship between vitamin C status and cataracts, it was also found that people who took an average of 400 IU of vitamin E each day had 40% of the risk of senile cataracts as those who did not take supplements. A study by Jacques, however, did not find any difference in the cataract risk for people with low, moderate or high levels of tocopherol in the plasma.

Vitamin B2 (riboflavin). As a cofactor for glutathione reductase, riboflavin may indirectly affect the antioxidant mechanisms in the lens. According to Jacques and Taylor, research indicates that people who took riboflavin supplements or thyroxine, had higher glutathione reductase activity in the lens epithelia than did people who did not take such supplements. While the clarity of the lens depends on riboflavin, however there is no firm link between this nutrient and senile cataracts.

In a 1981 study of people with cataracts, researchers found that 34% of those over the age of 50 had a riboflavin deficiency, compared to none of the study's control subjects. In a later study of malnourished subjects, 81% of those with cataracts (and 12% of controls) were riboflavin deficient.  According to the authors, these studies and others suggest a link between riboflavin deficiency and senile cataracts. "However, in populations where riboflavin status is adequate, there is no evidence to suggest that riboflavin supplementation can provide any additional protection against cataracts," they state.

Selenium. As a cofactor in the glutathione redox cycle selenium may help to protect against injury from the oxidation process. The authors note, however, that an increased risk of experimental cataract has been linked to both a deficiency and an excess of selenium. Meanwhile, the only epidemiological data that links a low selenium level to cataract formation found that the correlation was only marginally significant.

Based on their research, Jacques and Taylor conclude that senile cataracts are a common problem among the aged population, but not an inevitable one. The formation of cataracts appears to stem, in part, from damage to the lens proteins by the process of oxidation. And research shows that antioxidant nutrients can slow down various types of cataract-like injuries. As a result, they say, the existing data establishing a connection between the risk of senile cataract and micronutrient intake provides a foundation for future work in this area.

For more about this subject and more of Gary Null's informative articles go to his website

 Gary Null's Natural Living  

Eat Right for Your Type : The Individualized Diet Solution to Staying Healthy, Living Longer & Achieving Your Ideal Weight by Peter J., Dr. D'Adamo, Catherine Whitney (Contributor), Dr. Peter J D'Adamo        This was one book I was not going to read.  I have been a vegetarian for the last 10 years.  When I first heard about this book I went into the book store and flip to the part that told me what an O type should be eating.  Lots of animal protein, well OK, I put the book down and didn't think about it again until it was recommended to me again, and again, and again.  What finally convinced me though was a post by Elena about a month ago.  I decided to give it a chance and actually read it.  I am glad I did.  It is well written and D'Alamo really explains what he is talking about.  It didn't hurt that he is a second generation naturopathic doctor either.  Here is Elena post,   Hi guys and gals, vision does improve on the right diet, but I haven't seen one person on this list who's doing the right diet!  though I've seen many who are doing what I used to do myself! -- Jeez, let's see...  raw foodist, yes, vegetarian, yes, macrobiotic, juicing, fasting, cleansing, been there done that.  I've read all there is on nutrition -- frutarians to paleo diet, Jensen to Ornish, Sears to Atkins, Gerson, Michio Kushi, TCM, Ayurvedic, you name it...  Also a lot of biochemical research into the matter, also evolutionary biology, also evolutionary microbiology...  and stuff about glycemic indices and enzymes and putrefaction and insulin resistance and on and on...  to figure out what it is we are and what it is we're really supposed to eat.  Have seen discussion boards where blatantly carnivorous paleo dieters, some of them ex-vegetarians, swear that meat saved their lives, with medical records to back up the claims; and I've also seen vegetarian discussion groups where vegetarians condemn the "dead-animal-eating" barbarians and worship the Mighty Carrot, also with many success stories...  Have attended gatherings and seminars on nutrition, listened to the macrobiotic pitches forswearing raw food (cook everything or you won't assimilate it) and to raw foodists' counterpitches (cook nothing, cooked food is poison!), was told bad things about milk and good things about aglae, then listened to people who got herpes from aglae and cured it with milk...  Have looked at people everywhere, people in grocery stores buying the SAD fare, and people in HFSs, and was thinking to myself...  god, what a freak show, why is 95% of the population so, um, ugly, so unwell, so sick-looking, sick-acting, overweight or emaciated, somnolent or hyper...  where is normality, for chrissake?  So, the long and winding road ISO what humans should eat finally led me to the book that has the answers.  The book is called Eat Right For Your Type, by Peter D'Adamo, N.D., and it finally explains why the same diet can do wonders for some folks while destroying the health of others!  Hey -- don't eat _anything_ until you've read it, seriously! The thing is, the population of the world breaks down into four very different metabolic groups, which are discernible from the four different blood types we are, due to the peculiarities of our evolution, which has created, for all practical purposes, four biochemically different subspecies of homo sapiens.  (This has nothing to do with race or nationality -- the process that set apart our four different metabolic profiles took place earlier than the development of races or state borders).  There's a whole lot of metabolic peculiarities associated with each type, because we inherit a specific set of genes for other linked traits together with our blood type -- traits like over- or underproduction of stomach acid, a tendency toward ketosis of the tissues, a set of distinct immune responses to substances in foods called lectins which react with our blood-type-specific antigens, and most importantly, explicit tendencies toward certain disorders that inappropriate foods will cause our specific type to develop -- while the same foods may be medicinal for another type!  Things were finally making sense to me after I got the book and then followed D'Adamo's ongoing research for the next 1 1/2 years.  All this time I've been strictly adhering to the eating plan that 's right for MY type, type B, which is only 9% of the world population and has different requirements from either the ones for Os (47% of the population, who do very well on meat but are destroyed by most grains and eventually get very sick on vegetarian diets) or for As (43% who do very well on vegetarian fare and indeed can't digest meat) -- e.g., I'm the only type that thrives on dairy!  I am, furthermore, revived and reborn on lamb but can't have chicken...  won't be harmed by any nightshades except for tomatoes...  can't have whole wheat but can have white flour if I like (though it's not my best food choice)...  must keep in mind that soy, which is cancer-preventing for As, is carcinogenic for Bs...  that coffee that gives Os ulcers and thyroid problems but greatly improves As sluggish digestion will neither heal nor hurt me, being on my "neutral" list...  and cabbage that As will pay dearly for eating is my birthright, but tomatoes the rare and precious ABs can have won't do me any good ...  and so on.  In every case, the eating plan is highly specific -- it's not groups of food we're talking about, it's food items, one by one, with in vitro scientific research and in vivo empirical observations combined to back up the status of each food item for each type in particular.  Well...  I think I've arrived.  There's no other way of eating that makes more sense to my body and my mind alike.  Do check it out, there's a good chance you will be glad you did for the rest of your life! Elena, who eats right for her type for all the right reasons