Older folks who go BLIND are missing out on THIS vision-saving nutrient
Is it just me, or has this year gone by lightning-fast… AND excruciatingly slow?
One day, it’s March… and spring is right around the corner…
And the next it’s October, with the fall harvest in full swing… and “spooky season” in our sights!
There’s been a lot this year to keep us on the edge…
And there are plenty of reasons why we should keep our eyes WIDE open for what’s to come next.
Don’t let this be the time that your vision starts to FAIL you.
You need to be able to see what’s happening with crystal-clear clarity!
Fortunately, there’s a way to keep vision-robbing issues at bay as you age – one that comes from a historically MISUNDERSTOOD kitchen staple.
Seeing red
Tomatoes get their bright red color from a plant pigment called lycopene… named after the Latin word for tomatoes, Lycopersicum, or “wolf peach.”
According to German folklore, eating a tomato could turn a witch… or maybe even YOU… into a werewolf!
In the 16th century, Germans feared tomatoes so much, they left them OUT of their dishes… and let the people of Italy and Spain (who didn’t believe in witchcraft) consume them instead.
But it turns out that there was NOTHING to fear about tomatoes – no black magic, no monsters lurking in the dark.
It’s a shame that the Germans DEPRIVED themselves of tomatoes and their namesake nutrient, lycopene…
Because turning blind eye to their health benefits might’ve put their vision on the CHOPPING BLOCK!
Pigments like lycopene… called carotenoids… are some of the most useful tools in preserving the function of aging eyes.
Especially a part of your eye like the retina… which is CRUCIAL for good vision… but is also particularly vulnerable to damage as you age.
You see, all that light you’re exposed to… day and night… eventually takes a toll on your eyes.
Whether it’s the UV rays from the sun… the “blue light” from your cell phone, computer screen, or flat-screen TV… or the glow of a full moon…
Excessive light exposure over time can “burn out” the light-sensing cells in the back of your eyes.
But lycopene is SO good in its role as “Mother Nature’s sunscreen”… it can protect both your eyes AND your skin from UV damage!
Now, you’ll want to do all you can to protect your retina…
Because with a condition like age-related macular degeneration, the middle part of the retina (or “macula”) DISINTEGRATES…
And the center part of your field of vision is gone FOREVER.
AMD is the LEADING reason why older folks go blind – even in the RICHEST countries in the world that have the BEST healthcare systems.
I’ll give you one guess as to which nutrient patients suffering from AMD are significantly LACKING in.
Lycopene!
Even better, HIGHER levels of lycopene have been associated with LOWER risk of AMD.
But lycopene’s benefits don’t end with the retina…
Because this red pigment can also protect lenses from developing cataracts.
As an antioxidant… lycopene helps NEUTRALIZE free radicals… and beat back oxidative stress.
It happens to more than HALF of all older Americans by the time they reach 80 years old.
And if you’re in your 60s, it may have ALREADY started happening to you.
But you DON’T have to just sit by… and watch the clouds roll in… or the world go dark.
Out of all the food sources of lycopene, the most can be found in red tomatoes (not yellow or green).
To boost the lycopene content your body can readily use — by as much as 4X – make sure you crush and/or heat them in oil.
Besides cooked tomatoes, your other food options are red peppers (again, cooked, ideally in a healthy oil) and watermelon.
The easiest and most efficient way to get lycopene in a form your body can absorb is by taking a supplement… ideally extracted from non-GMO tomatoes.
You may find it labeled as “tomato carotenoids” or “tomato extract.”
Lycopene doesn’t dissolve in water… so most standardized tomato extracts come encapsulated in some kind of oil or lipid solution.
Look for a soy-free formulation made with oils from alternative sources, like rice bran.
To harvesting a cure for vision loss,
Melissa Young
P.S. Feel free to combine lycopene with other eye-boosting pigments, like those that give a bright yellow/orange hue to a sacred Aztec flower.
Click here to find out what they are… and how they can also help keep blindness at bay.
