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Cataracts. “This sight-stealing disease is the leading cause of blindness and visual impairment in the world,” James W. Anderson, M.D., and Maury M. Breecher, Ph.D., M.P.H., remind us in their new book, Dr. Anderson’s Antioxidant, Antiaging Health Program (1996).
An estimated 46 percent of all people aged 75 to 85 have cataracts, and, as a result, “cataract surgery has become the most common surgical procedure among people who are 65 years of age or older,” Anderson and Breecher add.
In fact, over 40,000 Americans will become blind in 1996 due to cataracts, the formation of many of which could have been prevented through proper nutrition.
What are cataracts? A cataract is any yellowish fogging over of the lens of the eye. Normally, the lens, situated behind the pupil, “focuses light on the retina at the back of the eye to produce a sharp image,” James Marti explains in The Alternative Health & Medicine Encyclopedia.
“When a cataract forms, the lens becomes so opaque that light cannot be transmitted easily to the retina,” Marti continues. “If only a small part of the lens is involved, sight is not greatly impaired, and there may be no need to remove the cataract. If a large portion of the lens becomes cloudy, however, sight can be partially, or completely, impaired, and the cataract must be removed.”
What contributes to cataract formation?