I may be embarrassing Quentin, but I am posting this one
from the archives to save it from heading into extinction
with time. This specific post led to several changes in my
diet, including fish, orange capsicums[peppers] onions and
other herbs that I still include today.

You will find this version posted by Annette and the context
here: http://tinyurl.com/yo2xeu. I couldn't find Quentin's
original post.

From Annette, May 17 2004

'Many thanks Quentin for those links on best food sources
for zinc.

For a general and easily followed description of dietary
zinc and it's importance for maintaining good health, see;
http://www.merck.com/mrkshared/mmanual_home2/sec12/ch155/ch155l.jsp

I found a post on foods for the eyes by Quentin that I
saved, simply because it was SO good, and had that element
of fun that is so typical of our favourite nutrition guru!

With apologies (but sadly no money) to Quentin, here it is
in all it's glory.

Annette
(Who likes it when the hero sweeps her up onto his horse!)
;-)

"1.  Control blood glucose tightly.  The eyes don't have
insulin receptors so don't require insulin to transfer
glucose into the eyes in the way muscles do.  What this
means if blood glucose is high then glucose rushes into the
eye just as the sea rushes into inlets when the tide is
high.

2.  Glucose in the eye can be converted to sorbitol by an
enzyme called aldose reductase.  Picture sorbitol like the
bloke with a black hat in a Western.  When the bloke on the
horse with a black hat rides into town something bad is
going to happen.  The sombre music tells you so.  You can't
be sure of which plot the Western will follow ... there are
only a few but something real bad is going to happen when
the black hatted guy rides in to the theme of "Sorbitol,
Sorbitol, Sorbitol who you gunna bowl?"

Fortunately is Westerns worthy of the name there are blokes
who wear white hats, aldose reductase inhibitors, Ari for
short.   All good Westerns have a bit of tear jerking but it
better be brief so we can get on an enjoy the action.  In
the shoot out between Sorbitol and Ari, the tear jerking
element is onion.  Onion is an excellent source of
biologically available Quercetin. (Any resemblance to my own
name is entirely coincidental.)  Quercetin is an excellent
antioxidant great for curing hay fever ... told you this was
a tear jerker.  It doesn't matter if you fry up the onion in
a pan on a camp fire, Quercetin can take it just don't pour
it down the drain.  Whatever, Quercetin saves the day and
stops aldose reductase from converting glucose to Sorbitol
and your eyes are saved from numerous fates worse than
death.

3.  If you can't stop Sorbitol from riding around shooting
up things the next best thing is having him corralled in a
box canyon.  Enter stage left to great applause ... Taurine.
Taurine keeps sorbitol boxed up with osmotic pressure.
Taurine is an amino acid found in fish especially shellfish
and fish hearts etc, meat that hasn't been over cooked.  Eat
some green lipped mussels or sardines.  Steak that gallops
onto your plate has more taurine than one grilled to death.

4.  OK, Westerns were black and white but the audience
demanded more. They wanted colour.  Now at first the colours
weren't very good. People got a bit confused with their
colours and thought beta carotene from carrots were good for
eyes.  Bugs Bunny got a lot of good press when the real hero
was Olive Oil who no doubt nagged Popeye just a little bit
to eat his spinach.  Spinach looks green but it hides some
good yellow stuff called lutein (yellow) that protects the
peripheral regions of the eye from the ravages of blue and
ultraviolet light.

Lutein does a wonderful job in providing sunglasses INSIDE
the eye. Young people need the sunglasses effect of lutein
because their eyes are clear. Older people need the
antioxidant effects of lutein because ... they are old.  The
clock of ages gallops for T2 diabetics who don't take care.
Wait don't send money.  There is more.  Spinach has a
special bonus offer ... orange centres.  The central foveal
regions of the eyes NEED ORANGE ... a very special orange.
Nah, not beta carotene.  Beta carotene is a wannabe.  THE
orange is zeaxanthin.  Now it is kind of special. While
lutein is in most things green or yellow zeaxanthin is less
widely distributed.  Spinach is often a good source
though it varies. So is open leaf cabbage ie collards.

Orange capsicums are the ultimate source.  Persimmons are
excellent.

In some countries the likely sources are going to be the
green culinary herbs eg dill, coriander, parsley. The
Mexicans have it nailed with marigold petals.

(My note - that marigold is Calendula, not Tagetes,  BTW.
Annette )

4.  Some general antioxidants help; bilberries, blue
berries, Vit E, astaxanthin (the pink stuff in salmon and
prawns.)  Lowering oxidative stress is smart thinking.

BUT remember there are no substitutes for lutein and
zeaxanthin for the sunscreen effects. Other bioflavanoids
will not do.

Carrots are great for lungs, its mostly the alpha carotene.
Beetroot has its benefits elsewhere but the post is already
long.

Adios Amigo. "

PS If this appears twice - my apologies; I did something
wrong the first time.

But it bears repeating anyway:-)

Cheers, Alan, T2, Australia.
d&e, metformin 1500mg, ezetrol 10mg
Everything in Moderation - Except Laughter.
--
http://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com
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