Eye-Healthy Tangy Carrot Salad Recipe

This colorful salad is a great holiday side dish and can liven up your leftover meals as well. Carrots are full of eye-healthy beta-carotene and also contain significant amounts of fiber, potassium and vitamin C.

Other ingredients provide eye nutrients like zinc, lutein and protein (if you add the chickpeas).

Fresh orange juice is more nutritious, but the concentrate has a deeper tang that brightens the flavors.

Tangy Carrot Salad
(serves 4)

1/2 cup pine nuts, sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds8 large carrots
1-1/2 cups rocket or romaine lettuce, chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries, cherries or golden raisins

Optional Add-Ins:
1/4 cup pitted dates, chopped small
1/4 cup canned beets, drained and julienned
1/2 cup canned chickpeas, drained

Dressing:
1/3 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
2 Tbsp lime juice
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Toast the nuts or seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat for 2 or 3 minutes, until golden brown (don't let them burn). Salt lightly if desired, remove from pan and let cool.
2. You can either grate the carrots or make long ribbons of them with a vegetable spiralizer or peeler. Place in a large bowl with the lettuce, dried fruit, and any other add-ins you choose. Mix well.
3. In a small bowl, mix together the dressing ingredients. Pour over salad in large bowl and toss. Sprinkle the toasted nuts or seeds over the top, and serve. 

Diabetes & Your Eyes

What is diabetes?

Diabetes is a chronic disease that prevents your body from making or using insulin, which in turn leads to increased sugar levels in your bloodstream, known as high blood sugar.

How does diabetes affect the eye?

Diabetes and its complications can affect many parts of the eye.  Diabetes can cause changes in nearsightedness, farsightedness and premature presbyopia (the inability to focus on close objects). It can result in cataracts, glaucoma, paralysis of the nerves that control the eye muscles or pupil, and decreased corneal sensitivity. Visual symptoms of diabetes include fluctuating or blurring of vision, occasional double vision, loss of visual field, and flashes and floaters within the eyes. Sometimes these early signs of diabetes are first detected in a thorough eye examination performed by a doctor of optometry. The most serious eye problem associated with diabetes is diabetic retinopathy.

What is retinopathy?

Diabetes may affect all blood vessels in your body, including those inside your eye. Diabetic retinopathy occurs when there is a weakening or swelling of the tiny blood vessels in the retina of your eye, resulting in blood leakage, the growth of new blood vessels and other changes. If diabetic retinopathy is left untreated, blindness can result.

Can vision loss from diabetes be prevented?

Yes, in a routine eye examination, your doctor of optometry can diagnose potential vision threatening changes in your eye that may be treated to prevent blindness. However, once damage has occurred, the effects can be permanent. It is important to control your diabetes as much as possible to minimize your risk of developing retinopathy.

How is diabetic retinopathy treated?

In the early stages, diabetic retinopathy is monitored through eye health examinations. If necessary, it may be treated with intraocular injections of anti-VEGF therapy (Lucentis, Avastin, Eylea) or laser therapy. A bright beam of light is focused on the retina, causing a laser burn that seals off leaking blood vessels. In other cases, retinal surgery may be necessary. Early detection of diabetic retinopathy is crucial, as treatment is much more likely to be successful at an early stage.

Are there risk factors for developing diabetic retinopathy?

Several factors that increase the risk of developing diabetic retinopathy include poorly controlled blood sugar levels, the number of years you have had diabetes, smoking, high blood pressure, drinking alcohol and pregnancy.

How can diabetes-related eye problems be prevented?

Monitor and maintain control of your diabetes. See your physician regularly and follow instructions about diet, exercise and medication. See one of our Doctors of Optometry for a thorough eye examination when you are first diagnosed with diabetes, at least annually thereafter and more frequently if recommended.

Our Amazing Eyes And How They Work

Did you see that super moon last night? How about the big game? Or were you watching your daughter take her first steps? Our eyes truly let us see some wonderful things.

But how do eyes work? The eyes are fascinating and complex organs with many components. We’d like to help you understand exactly how eyes function so you can appreciate just how amazing these organs that allow us to see the world really are!

How Do We See?

For our eyes to work, there needs to be light. Light from the sun or an artificial source bounces off objects and into our eyes through the pupil—the black hole in the middle of our eyes. The iris, the colored part of the eye, changes the size of the pupil depending on how much light there is.

After entering the eye through the pupil, light passes through the lens. The lens focuses the light onto the retina at the back of the eye. The retina contains millions of photoreceptors–sensors that convert light into electrical impulses. These electric impulses travel along the optic nerve and into our brain. The brain then produces an image, allowing us to see!

How Similar Is A Camera To Our Eyes?

Thinking about our eyes in comparison to a camera may help us easier understand how the eye functions.

The iris works like the shutter in the camera, enlarging and shrinking depending on how much light is present. The lenses of both the eyes and a camera are similar in that they focus light onto something. In a camera, light is focused onto film instead of on the retina.

Even though it serves as a good comparison tool, there are some crucial differences between a camera and our eyes!

5 More Cool Eye Facts

Here are some interesting facts about how our eyes work:

1. The pupil dilates 45 percent when looking at something pleasant, trying to take it all in.
2. The retina can transmit up to 10 million bits of information every second!
3. Your eyes use 65 percent of your brainpower–that’s more than any other part of your body.
4. Images that are sent to your brain are actually backwards and upside down.
5. Humans can see the light of a candle from 14 miles away under the right conditions!

We Love Your Eyes!

Our eyes are windows to the world around us. They let us see so many magnificent things! Make sure you take care of those beautiful eyes of yours by maintaining a healthy lifestyle and making regular visits one of our Doctors of Optometry.

Children’s Vision Month Recap

We are always sure to take our kids to the pediatrician for yearly exams, we watch what they are eating, monitor their time in front of the TV, keep them warm, fed, and teach them all we can about the world. However, there is one area of your child’s health that you might be missing out on, eye health! Undiagnosed eye problems can lead to long lasting issues with learning and development so it is important to keep an eye on your kids’ eyes.

Have you noticed your little one squinting? Having difficulty reading? Moving closer to the TV or a book? These are a few signs that your child may have vision problems but guess what? 1 in 4 school-age children have eye problems, and they often have no easy- to- detect symptoms, so it’s easy to miss. Luckily, many vision issues, if caught early, can be corrected.

October was Children’s Vision Month and I wanted to take time to share some important facts with you about eye exams. While your paediatrician might do a quick routine check of your child’s eyes, it is not the same as a comprehensive eye. Taking your child for a yearly eye exam from a doctor of optometry (optometrist) is the best way to be sure that their visual system develops normally. Your child should ideally have their first eye exam between 6 to 9 months old, once between 2 and 5, then annually thereafter – most provinces in Canada offer some form of coverage for kid’s eye exams.

80% of learning is obtained through our vision- this applies to playing, socializing, and learning. Help your child reach their furthest potential by having their eyes examined by an optometrist to rule out any vision issues right at the start. My daughter needed to wear a mild prescription to help her with reading. She will probably only need to wear them for a while and we noticed a difference in her school work right away.

If your child is apprehensive about visiting a doctor of optometry, here are a few tips to help them relax:

• Explain to your child what will happen at the optometrist’s office. Click here for more information on what is involved in a child’s eye exam.
• Check out books on the subject from the library.
• Role play an exam with their dolls or stuffed animals.
• When you are in the exam room, ask the doctor to tell your child what they are doing as they do it.

Having this knowledge really helped my little girl feel more at ease and less frightened at her first eye exam. Give some of them a try with your own little one. Book an appointment today to have your child’s vision checked by one of our Doctors of Optometry for this school year if you haven’t already.! You can book an appointment by clicking HERE.

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World Sight Day! We Care!

Our optometrists at Vision Source New Westminster are taking part in the World Sight Day Challenge

during October to help give the gift of vision to people in underserved communities around the world.

Now in its 10th year, the World Sight Day Challenge is the largest annual global fundraising campaign to address avoidable blindness caused by uncorrected refractive error – simply the need for an eye exam and glasses. The campaign is run by global charity, Optometry Giving Sight.

Dr. Pavan Avinashi will be supporting the Challenge by matching all donations over $20 between October 7th and October 21st. Vision Source New Westminster is also participating throughout October by holding a raffle/donation with prizes worth thousands of dollars to help the more than 600 million people in the world who are blind or vision impaired because they do not have access to an eye exam or glasses.

“I have supported Optometry Giving Sight for 10 years,” said Dr. Avinashi. “Preventable blindness is a solvable problem and we are proud to help give better vision to those in need. Most people are surprised to learn that for as little as $5 someone living in an underserved community can be provided with an eye exam and a pair of glasses to transform their lives. Everyone can make a huge difference and we are thrilled to be contributing to the challenge.”

Participating is easy – simply make a single or monthly donation before the end of October. The campaign’s goal is to raise $1 million globally in 2016.

Changing Lives:

Socheata is 17 years old and in her final year of studies. She recently received an eye examination as part of a School Eye Health program at her school in Cambodia part funded by Optometry Giving Sight. “When I was in grade 11, I was really struggling to see,” she said. “I found trying to see or read long distance an immense struggle, especially while the teacher was writing on the board. Once I received my glasses I started to use them often for travelling to school, especially for school time and doing house work. I felt comfortable wearing my glasses and was no longer getting dizzy or suffering from headaches from straining my eyes”.

To date, Optometry Giving Sight has disbursed funding from donors and sponsors to 106 projects in 42 countries. For more information, go to www.givingsight.org.

Vision Source New Westminster is located at 301 East Columbia Street in New Westminster, BC. Call 604.553.3900 to schedule an appointment.

Pregnancy Could Cause Changes In Your Vision

Morning sickness, weight gain, back pain… These are common symptoms of pregnancy. But did you know pregnancy can affect your vision as well?

A woman’s body goes through extraordinary changes during pregnancy. Some of them, like changes in hormones, metabolism, fluid retention and blood circulation, can have an effect on your eyes! Below are some of the most common vision-related changes women see during pregnancy.

Pregnant Women Can Experience Blurry Vision

Due to fluid retention (a common side effect of pregnancy) the thickness and shape of the cornea can change slightly, causing blurred or distorted vision. Usually the change is minor but if your vision is significantly altered, talk to your doctor. If you have glasses or contacts and the change in your vision is severe, your prescription may need to be changed. This is usually unnecessary, however, as your cornea will return to its normal shape after you’ve had your baby.

Expect Dry Eyes During Pregnancy

It’s normal for your eyes to feel a bit more dry, tired or irritated during pregnancy. Wearing contact lenses, especially for longer periods of time, can be a bit more uncomfortable for expectant mothers. If you are experiencing dry eyes, consult with your eye care provider about artificial tears that are safe to use during pregnancy.

Vision Disturbances May Be A Sign Of Preeclampsia

Issues with your vision during pregnancy may be a sign of a more serious condition called preeclampsia. Preeclampsia is characterized by high blood pressure and usually occurs after the 20 week mark. Signs of preeclampsia can show up in your eyes, such as:

• Temporary loss of vision
• Light sensitivity
• Blurry or double vision
• Seeing spots or flashing lights

If you experience any of these more severe vision disturbances, contact your doctor immediately.

Diabetes Can Affect Vision, Especially During Pregnancy

Women with diabetes who become pregnant should have a comprehensive dilated eye exam as soon as possible and throughout their pregnancy as recommended. This is because women who have diabetes during pregnancy may have a rapid onset or worsening of diabetic retinopathy, a disease that causes damage to the small blood vessels that supply the retina of the eye. If you have diabetes and are planning to conceive, talk to your doctor and eye care provider. Your Vision Source® member practice will monitor your condition throughout your pregnancy so that you and your baby can be as healthy and safe as possible.

Expectant Mothers Can Trust Our Practices

Just because you are expecting a baby doesn’t mean you have to put off your regular eye exam. We care about the vision and overall health of you and your child. So, in between trips to the doctor and Babies-R-Us, don’t let visiting your optometrist fall off of your pregnancy to-do list! Click here to book an appointment online today.

Feed Your Eyes – 5 Snacks for Healthier Eyes

Just as we drink water to stay hydrated or fill up on fruits and veggies to maintain our health, it’s also important to nurture our eyes with food.

Keep your eyes in tip top shape with these great go-to snack ideas that are packed with nutritious foods for your eyes.

Eat your leafy greens – Fresh spinach and kale are loaded with two antioxidants called lutein and zeaxanthin. These antioxidants help protect against the damaging effects of UV rays – pack an extra-large salad on those sunny days!

Fruits and veggies – Fill your lunch bag with colourful Vitamin C rich foods, such as grapefruit, strawberries, bell peppers and broccoli. Vitamin C is another vitamin that acts as an antioxidant by helping to absorb some of harmful rays generated by the sun.

Hummus – Enjoy some hummus with you veggies! Chickpeas, as well as other legumes, contain Zinc which helps your liver release and drive Vitamin A to the retina to produce melanin – melanin helps protect your eyes from ultraviolet light.

Visit the docks – Most know that Omega 3 fats have many disease fighting powers, but did you know that they can also help protect against age-related macular degeneration and dry eye? Cook up your favourite salmon salad recipe, or order some sushi to-go.

Think Orange – Carrots, yams and sweet potato are packed with beta-carotene, an antioxidant that can help reduce the risk of age-related macular degeneration and cataracts.

Use leftover turkey – Planning a picnic? Pack your sandwiches full of this zinc and niacin filled protein. In addition to helping fill your zinc quota for the day, turkey contains b-vitamin niacin, which can help protect against cataracts.

Have questions? Chat with one of our Doctors of Optometry for more tips on how to keep your eyes happy and healthy.