The beholder of the eye
Nutritional ways to protect your vision and see strong
MARIGOLD-FLOWER TEA IS A PRODUCT OF LOCAL WISDOM THAT WE FOUND WHEN WE TRAVELLED TO COMMUNITIES OF TAI YAI
The overuse of tiny screens is known to potentially cause big vision problems. The eyes can get exhausted after looking at smartphones, tablets or computers for too long. The exposure to blue light may hurt your eyesight and cause blurry vision or even long-term nearsightedness.
As part of the recent Healthcare 2018 Forum, a pharmacist from Chao Phraya Abhaibhubejhr Hospital, Wachana Tungkwampian, offers some herb-related advice and natural tips on how to make the eyes strong and healthy.
DRINKING BLUE TEA
There are many herbs and vegetables that you can consume regularly to help keep your eyes healthy. Among them are butterfly peas and marigold flowers, said Wachana.
The flowers, either dry or fresh, can be used for making the blue herbal tea. Butterfly pea flower tea is common and people may add lemon juice when served cold. But marigold flower tea? That’s an unusual tea ingredient.
“Marigold-flower tea is a [product of ] local wisdom that we found when we travelled to communities of Tai Yai [tai ethnic group] in the North. We also found research papers to confirm the knowledge that marigold-flower tea is good for our eyesight,” she said.
The flower has lutein and zeaxanthin, the two types of carotenoids that give yellow-to-red colours to flowers or vegetables like carrots, tomatoes and pumpkins. In nature, the pigment of the flowers can absorb excess light energy in order to protect the plants from absorbing too much sunlight.
For human eyes, the lutein and zeaxanthin will help protect our eyes from the blue light of electronic screens.
“There are many lutein and zeaxanthin supplements available in the market, but you can make your own supplements by simply making the herbal tea,” she said.
The butterfly-pea flower, on the other hand, has anthocyanin, like other blue or violet food such as khao hom-nin (aromatic black rice) or other purple fruits or vegetables such as blueberries and purple cabbage. The blue flowers have the antioxidant that helps slow down age-related macular degeneration, she said.
The way to make herbal tea is to boil about 10 butterfly-pea flowers and a handful of marigold flowers in one litre of water for 15 minutes or until the butterfly-pea flowers turn pale. You may add honey, sugar or stevia leaves to sweeten the tea. It can be served hot or cold by adding ice.
ADDING ANTIOXIDANTS
In addition, you should have herbs that have high antioxidants such as turmeric ( Curcuma longa) and Indian gooseberry, known as makham pom in Thai.
The herbs can help prevent age-related macular degeneration (AMD) which can happen not only to older adults, but also to young people, said the pharmacist.
“You can have one teaspoon of turmeric powder a day. It can be mixed with any dishes or drinks like milk, yoghurt or soya milk. Turmeric is not only good for your eyes, but also for protecting your brain cells from memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease,” she said
If you do not want to take it in the powder form, you can have it in a capsule and the recommended dosage is taking one turmeric capsule a day, she said.
For Indian gooseberry, on the other hand, it has high vitamin C and antioxidant that you can also take it daily.
She said the fruit is part of a healthy diet that can lead to longevity. To eat the sour fruit in the traditional way is to preserve the fruit in honey until the green fruits turn light brown. Then you can eat one sweetened gooseberry daily.
IMPROVING BLOOD FLOW
One of the vegetables that can help improve blood flow is Gotu Kola or bua- bok ( Centella asiatica) leaves. You can eat them fresh with chilli dip or by making a green herbal drink.
To make the drink, you need to blend a bunch of bua-bok leaves with water and squeeze out all the green juice for the drink.
“The leaves, however, will have a better fragrance if you pound them rather than using an electric blender,” she said.
HAVING VITAMIN A
The last recommendation is to have vegetables that are high in vitamin A, such as
morning glory, kale, green amaranth ( phak khom) and Ceylon spinach ( phak plang). Another green veggie that Wachana wanted to recommend is a small-sized bitter
gourd ( mara khinok). Normally, the bitter gourd is parboiled and eaten with chilli dip. However, there is another food that she has tasted and likes : stir-fried bitter melon with butter and garlic.
“The dish is very delicious,” she said, adding that it is the recipe of Chao Phraya Abhaibhubejhr (Choom Abhaiwongse), who was the last Siamese governor of Battambang province, which today belongs to Cambodia, during the period of King Rama V. There are still other ways for you to protect your eyes from strain, such as having enough sleep, reducing stress or wearing sunglasses to protect your eyes from strong sunshine. “You do not have to take ever y recommended herb and vegetable every day. Just keep rotating them and make sure that the plants are grown in a chemical- free environment and are free from any hazardous chemicals,” she said.