The Eye Doctor Prescribed Kale

Losing your vision is a quiet fear a lot of people carry, because it threatens the things that make life feel like yours: reading a book, driving safely, recognizing a loved one’s face, staying independent. We start with a real moment from clinic life that stopped me in my tracks: an ophthalmologist’s report that didn’t just list diagnoses like early diabetic retinopathy, signs of age-related macular degeneration, and possible glaucoma. It also recommended a Mediterranean-style, plant-forward diet and regular physical activity.

From there, we connect the dots between eye health and the rest of the body. Your retina and macula depend on healthy blood vessels, steady oxygen delivery, nutrient availability, and inflammation control. That’s why the lifestyle choices that lower risk for heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes can also support long-term vision. We break down what the evidence actually says about AMD, including the AREDS and AREDS II nutrients (vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc, copper, lutein, and zeaxanthin), and why dietary patterns rich in leafy greens, colorful produce, legumes, nuts, and seeds keep showing up in eye research.

We also cover cataracts, diabetic eye disease, and the more nuanced data around glaucoma, including why lifestyle medicine should complement standard eye care, not replace it. Finally, we talk exercise and intraocular pressure, plus simple, realistic food choices that fit whether you eat fully plant-based or include fish. If you found this helpful, subscribe, share the show with a friend who cares about healthy aging, and leave a review so more people can find these practical, science-based conversations.

Go check out my website for tons of free resources on how to transition towards a healthier diet and lifestyle.

You can download my free plant-based recipes eBook and a ton of other free resources by visiting  the Digital Downloads tab of my website at https://www.plantbaseddrjules.com/shop

Don't forget to check out my blog at https://www.plantbaseddrjules.com/blog 

You can also watch my educational videos on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMpkQRXb7G-StAotV0dmahQ

Check out my upcoming live events and free eCourse, where you'll learn more about how to create delicious plant-based recipes: https://www.plantbaseddrjules.com/

Go follow me on social media by visiting my Facebook page and Instagram accounts
https://www.facebook.com/plantbaseddrjules
https://www.instagram.com/plantbased_dr_jules/

Last but not least, the best way to show your support and to help me spread my message is to subscribe to my podcast and to leave a 5 star review on Apple and Spotify!
Thanks so much!

Peace, love, plants!
Dr. Jules 

Transcript

Welcome Back And Why Vision Matters

SPEAKER_00 0:10

Yo, Plant Base Buddies, welcome back to season three of the podcast. This year's gonna be amazing. We'll be talking about all of the different pillars of lifestyle medicine, from nutrition to exercise to stress to sleep and everything in between. Yo, Plant Face Buddies, welcome back to another episode of the podcast. Today we're gonna be talking about something that many people will never think about until they lose it, and that's their vision. Now, as a family doctor, I spend a lot of time talking about heart disease, about diabetes, obesity, cancer, dementia. But one of the greatest fears that I have, and that many of my patients have, is losing their eyesight as they age. Imagine losing your vision, you lose your ability to read, you lose your ability to drive, to recognize loved ones, and to remain independent.

A Surprising Eye Clinic Recommendation

SPEAKER_00 1:12

This morning, as I was doing my paperwork, something surprised me as I was reading the reports of one of my patients who had just seen his ophthalmologist. The recommendations that that eye specialist made to my patient blew my mind. Now, this patient lives with type 2 diabetes, and he basically recently attended his annual retinal screening. So during the assessment, the eye specialist identified early diabetic retinopathy, signs of age-related macular degeneration, and possible glaucoma. And after discussing different treatment options and follow-up plans, the eye specialist recommended something that many people would never expect to hear in an eye clinic. And I never expected to read it on an eye specialist's report. This specialist recommended a Mediterranean-style plant-forward diet and regular physical activity. Now, as someone who advocates and practices lifestyle medicine, I couldn't help but smile and feel incredibly proud. Because this is exactly how medicine should work. We use medication when they're needed, we use procedures when they're necessary, but it's important to address the root cause that actually influences disease progression. So today I want to explore the science and what it says about nutrition, exercise, and eye health. Can food really help protect your vision? And can exercise lower the risk of having eye disease? The answer is obviously yes. And after that, we'll talk about practical steps that can get you started today.

Why Eye Disease Is Whole-Body

SPEAKER_00 3:16

So, although I've talked about this at length during previous episodes, one of the biggest misconceptions in medicine is that every single organ operates independently. And people often think of eye disease as an eye problem, heart disease as a heart problem, diabetes as a blood sugar problem. You get the point. But your body doesn't really work that way. Your eyes are filled with tiny blood vessels, the same ones that send blood flow to your heart and to your lungs and to muscles and to cartilage and to bones. And your eyes contain tiny nerves and highly specialized cells, and these cells depend on oxygen being delivered. Depend on blood flow, on inflammation control, and on the availability of nutrients. So everything that influences the health of your cardiovascular system also influences the health of your eyes. So when your blood vessels get damaged by diabetes, the eye retina suffers too. And when oxidative stress increases and inflammation rises, your macula suffers and multiple structures of the eye become vulnerable. And the same lifestyle factors that impact heart attacks and strokes will impact your vision, and that means that the same lifestyle interventions

Macular Degeneration And AREDS Nutrients

SPEAKER_00 4:50

often apply to both. Let's start by talking about age-related macular degeneration or AMD, because it's one of the most common causes of vision loss worldwide. The macula is the central portion of the retina that's responsible for detailed vision. It allows you to read, to recognize faces, to drive safely. And as AMD progresses, people can lose what we call central vision while peripheral vision remains intact. Now, one of the strongest nutrition interventions ever studied for AMD comes from the AREDS trial and the AREDS II trials. Now, researchers found that a specific combination of nutrients could reduce progression of AMD by approximately 25%. Now that's a very significant reduction, and these nutrients aren't anything complicated. They're vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc, copper, lutein, and zexanthin. Now, not everyone needs these supplements, and just so happens they also exist in food. Now that's why supplements are often recommended, and I and I think they're indicated and can be very useful for patients when they're recommended by a doctor. But beyond supplements, dietary patterns matter too. And studies consistently show that people who follow Mediterranean-style dietary patterns have slower progression of their AMD. Now, the most protective dietary components appear to be higher fish intake because of high levels of omega-3 that you can also obtain through nuts and seeds and soy products and avocados and certain vegetable oils. The other factor is greater vegetable consumption with a specific emphasis on dark leafy greens because they're super rich in nitrates, in zeaxanthins, in lutein, and other vitamins and minerals. And the third most protective dietary component to prevent progression of AMD is lowering your red meat intake. Now, regardless if we call it Mediterranean, plant forward, plant predominant, dash diet, mine diet, portfolio diet, or our Canadian food guide, all of these dietary patterns overlap because they all emphasize whole plant foods. And they all emphasized reducing ultra-processed foods as well as processed and red meats. Now, let's talk about cataracts. Cataracts occur when the lens of the eye becomes cloudy, and it's one of the most common reasons people will eventually require eye surgery. Now, what's interesting is if we're looking at nutrition studies, looking at cataract rates, several large studies have found lower rates of cataracts among people that are consuming plant-based, plant-predominant, plant-forward, vegetarian dietary patterns. And one study actually found a 20% lower risk of cataracts among vegetarians. And the famous Epic Oxford study, which is a study I've referenced before, found lower rates among vegetarians, vegans, and those on plant-based diets. Now, why might that be, you might ask? While researchers believe that several mechanisms may contribute to lower risk of cataracts amongst those consuming plant-based diets. In general, plant-predominant diets have higher antioxidant levels, lower oxidative stress, better glycemic control, they have lower inflammation, and higher intake of fruits and veggies. People who consume more whole plants have lower rates of cataracts. But cataracts and AMD, although they're important, are not the full picture. We need to talk about diabetic retinopathy. Now, this condition is particularly relevant because diabetes is one of the leading causes of preventable blindness. And diabetic retinopathy occurs when elevated blood sugars end up damaging tiny blood vessels within the retina. These vessels can either leak, they can bleed, they can even become blocked. But the encouraging news is that diabetic retinopathy is strongly influenced by the overall diabetes control. If you manage your diabetes well, you should be able to avoid or prevent retinopathy or slow down progression of retinopathy that's already there. In lifestyle interventions, they still remain one of the most powerful tools that we have available. And Mediterranean and plant forward diets consistently improve diabetes. They improve blood sugar control, HBA1C levels. They have patients that follow this dietary pattern,

Cataracts And Plant-Predominant Eating

SPEAKER_00 10:30

whether diabetic or not, have healthier body weights, healthier blood pressures, and lower levels of inflammation. All of these factors contribute to the progression of diabetic retinopathy. So when people ask me whether nutrition helps diabetic eye disease, well, the answer is yes. Basically, it helps everything. Diabetics are also at higher risk for strokes and heart attacks and high cholesterol and high blood pressure and higher levels of kidney disease and kidney failure. All of these things, regardless if it's for retinopathy or not, they improve all of these outcomes. Now, plant-based diets and healthier dietary patterns in general, they improve the metabolic environment that created the disease in the first place. And it improves the complications that come from uncontrolled blood sugars. Now, when it comes to the fort condition discussed today, glaucoma, the evidence is a little bit more nuanced. Online, you'll occasionally find claims that certain specific diets will reduce glaucoma. The evidence is still murky, but the research does show data that is very encouraging. One large study found that greater adherence to the mind diet, which is a combination of a Mediterranean and DASH diet, both are plant-predominant dietary patterns. The study found that adhering to the mind diet was associated with a 20% lower risk of open-angle glaucoma. And an even more recent review concluded that Mediterranean-style eating patterns are also supported by high-quality evidence for glaucoma prevention, but the effect sizes still appear modest. Now, this is important because lifestyle medicine isn't about exaggerating benefits, it's about accurately communicating what the evidence actually shows. Now, for glaucoma, nutrition may help, and exercise may help, but neither of them should replace standard eye care. Now, people with glaucoma need to monitor their eye pressure, they need prescription eye drops, some need laser therapy or surgical interventions, and these remain the foundation of glaucoma treatment. Lifestyle medicine is great, and it helps reduce the rates of chronic diseases, helps prevent them, treat them, and in some cases even reverse them. But lifestyle medicine won't heal a broken arm, and it won't heal a severely damaged eye. So medical therapy still remains the foundation of glaucoma treatment, and lifestyle strategies should be viewed as complementary tools instead of replacements. Now, when it comes to exercise and vision, many people are actually surprised to learn that exercise impacts eye health. And for most people listening to this episode, you're probably not surprised. Moderate aerobic exercise has been shown to reduce and lower intraocular pressure. That's the pressure inside of your eye. And several large observational studies have suggested

Diabetic Retinopathy And Blood Sugar Control

SPEAKER_00 13:56

that physically active individuals have lower rates of glaucoma, but the reductions aren't massive, roughly about 8% in some studies. But when combined with the cardiovascular, metabolic, cognitive, and mental health benefits of exercise, it becomes just another reason to move your body more regularly. The beauty of exercise is that it doesn't just benefit one organ. When you exercise, your entire body benefits, including your eyes. But still, we need to talk about the real superstars of eye health. And in terms of nutrition, these include green leafy vegetables like spinach, kale, swiss chard, arugula, because these foods they provide lutein and zexanthin, which are pigments that accumulate in your retina and they help protect against oxidative damage. Think of oxidative damage in the same way as you would think of when you cut an apple and you leave it out in the air, it turns brown. That is an oxidation process. It's a normal part of how we burn macronutrients to obtain energy, but excessive oxidative stress can lead to oxidative damage. And that's why including these pigments that are antioxidants will help maintain the health of your retina for longer. And greenleaf veggies also contain dietary nitrates that we know improve vascular function and improve blood flow. Now, amongst the other food superstars, we have nuts and seeds, walnuts, flaxseeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds. You get the point, these foods provide healthy fats, minerals, and plant omega-3s that can help improve eye health. And on that list, I would still include legumes like beans, lentils, chickpeas, and soy products, because these foods help support blood sugar control and reduce cardiovascular risk. Now, other foods can absolutely help support eye health, and on that list we have fruits and veggies, particularly colorful varieties because they're rich in antioxidants and in phytochemicals. And it's important to talk about fish for those who do consume animal products. Fatty fish like sardines, salmon, mackerel, anchovies, and herring, they remain one of the strongest dietary components that are associated with the reduced risk for age-related macular degeneration. So, what do all of these healthy dietary patterns have in common? Whether we put a label on them or not, or call them Mediterranean plant-based, plant forward, dash mind portfolio, when you step back, they all have the same foundations. They all emphasize fruits and veggies, legumes, whole grains, nuts and seeds, herbs and spices, and minimize ultra-processed foods, red meat, processed meat, excess sugar, and excess sodium. Now, although the labels we put on these diets are different, the foundations

Glaucoma Evidence Without The Hype

SPEAKER_00 17:11

and the common principles that these diets are built on are almost identical. Which is why Canada's food guide looks the way it does. The science keeps pointing us in the same direction. Build a diet that is built on foods that grow from the ground, a tree or a plant, and eat them in a state as close to the way Mother Nature created them. Voila. Look, I was really proud of my eye specialist colleague this week, not because they ignored conventional medicine or recommended diet instead of treatment, but because they recognize that lifestyle medicine matters. And the future of medicine and of health isn't medication versus lifestyle. It's medication plus lifestyle. The goal isn't simply to help people live longer, but to maintain their quality of life to make those years meaningful. Now, this includes preserving mobility, cognition, independence, and protecting your vision. Because seeing your grandchildren or reading your favorite book or driving safely or recognizing the face of someone you love, those things are very important for quality of life. And the only way we can maintain them is to maintain our eyesight. Right on. I hope this episode has helped you gain more knowledge about eye health and what keeps you seeing better for longer. Until next time, we'll see you next week at the next episode. Peace.com to find free downloadable resources. And remember that you can find me on Facebook and Instagram at Dr. Jewels Cormier and on YouTube at Planetbase Doctor Jewels.

Quality Of Life And Final Takeaways

SPEAKER_00 23:26

Everyone go check out my website, PlanfaceDoctorJouls.com to find free dollar resources. And remember that you can find me on Facebook and Instagram at Doctor Jewel Corbier and on YouTube at Platbase Doctor Jewel.