All right, Deb, back to Your question and Protecting our eyes first of all, it starts with the basics. A nutritious diet can help us keep our eyes as healthy as they can be for as long as they can be. You've probably heard of the Mediterranean diet. We're talking about leafy greens, colorful fruits, nuts, beans, fatty foods like fatty fish, salmon, all these foods can help support long term eye health, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Specifically foods that are rich in vitamin C or E. So oranges, grapefruit, kiwifruit, almonds, avocados. Zinc is something else you should pay attention to. You'll find that in legumes such as beans and lentils, seeds, meat, certain seafoods, dairy and eggs, and then lutein and zeaxanthin, leafy green vegetables, kale, spinach, collard greens, Swiss chard, broccoli and asparagus. They'll have plenty of those two ingredients. Also, again, the colorful fruits you want, raspberries, peaches, mangoes, they are chock full of these eye healthy micronutrients which are found naturally in the retina, which is the light sensitive tissue lining the back of the eye. Now, when it comes to omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids, oily fish, salmon, trout, sardines, nuts, and oils like walnuts and sunflower oil, they are all natural sources of these fatty acids. This is important because studies have shown that people who follow the diet that I have just outlined have a significant reduction in the progression of late stage age related macular degeneration, something known as AMD that is the leading cause of vision loss in older adults. So start with the basics. Focus on those types of foods. Now if your eyes feel tired or strained from screens, you should try something known as the 202020 rule. Basically means every 20 minutes look away from your screen to a spot about 20ft in front of you for 20 seconds. Sounds pretty simple, but it can help reduce eye strain. Finally, let's talk about eye drops. There are prescription drops to treat particular conditions which you should be diligent about taking even if your eyes feel fine at the time. But many people use over the counter drops to easily ease common problems such as dry eyes, red eyes, itchy eyes. So think of it like this. There are four main types of over the counter eye drops. There are artificial tears which treat dry eyes, antihistamine eye drops to treat itching and redness from allergies. There's anti redness drops to reduce, you guessed it, eye redness. Those should only be used occasionally by the way, for a special event or photos don't use those on a daily basis. What happens is the vessels will dilate and become bigger, so the eyes may become even more red. And lastly, there are more intense nighttime versions of these drops. They are usually thicker and longer lasting and should be applied right before bed. Because of the sort of goopy or texture, they can blur your vision for a short time. All of these drops come in preservative and preservative free versions. So first of all, make sure you're using the right drop for the right purpose. And if you find yourself reaching for eye drops often, you might want to consider switching over to a preservative free version because chronic use of some eye drops with preservatives can actually start to break down the eyes protective coating and that can lead to even drier or more irritated eyes. Do keep in mind that symptoms like dryness, redness, itching, they can be temporary. So you're not always going to need eye drops. But if you're using the over the counter drops more than two or three times per day, you probably should visit an eye doctor and figure out if you have some sort of underlying condition that can be treated. Also, I should mention wearing sunglasses. I think this is an obvious one, but something we should really think about. They protect your eyes from the sun's ultraviolet rays. You know that UV radiation can damage the eye surface tissue as well as the cornea and lens and that can raise your risk of eye diseases and other problems. So when purchasing sunglasses, look for ones that block out 99 to 100% of UVA and UVB radiation. Also use protective eye covering if you're working with certain materials or if you're participating in certain sports. Get your health under control in general. Diabetes, high blood pressure, those things can be associated with eye complications as well. And get your regular eye exams that'll help you catch any problems sooner rather than later. Deb, I hope these tips can help put your super peepers on the road to good eye health for years to come. Thanks for calling in. All right, we're going to take a quick break here, but when we come back, I know a lot of you are hitting the gym and wondering what is the difference really between muscle strength and muscle mass and what is the correlation? Which should you prioritize? We'll talk about it right after the break.
A (10:04)
All right, thanks for your question, C Ro. It's a good one. A lot of people assume that if they're active or if they have muscle, they should automatically feel strong. But to your point, muscle mass and muscle strength are not the same thing. And the differences become even more apparent as we age. I'm in my mid-50s as well, and one thing that I've noticed is that things feel different as the years go by. And that's something a lot of people notice. You can be active, you can exercise, but your body's still going to change that feeling that you're talking about. You're staying active, but feeling weaker. It actually tracks. It makes sense. Feeling weaker isn't only about how much muscle you have. It's about how well that muscle works. Let me repeat that. It's not just about how much muscle you have, but how well that muscle works. Now, as you mentioned, Ciro, muscle mass is different than muscle strength. And anyone listening might be wondering, what's the difference? Well, if you have a lot of muscle mass, you'd assume that you're strong, right? But no, it's not actually all the same.
A (12:52)
Functional muscle C ro that's the term you should probably remember here. It's the difference between muscle that shows and muscle that actually works when and where you need it. What is the use of muscle mass or having large muscles if you're not able to do the basic things your body needs to do every day? So the goal of lifting as we age should be building or maintaining strength, not muscle mass. So let's get that back to your question, Ciro, on why you might feel weak even though you work out quite a bit. Well, when we age, no matter how active we are, even if we strength train, there will be some natural decline in muscle strength. Exercising absolutely helps, I want to make that clear. But at the same time, it doesn't completely stop that decline. Think of it more as slowing the rate of the decline. And it's not only strength we lose with age, we lose flexibility as well if we don't work on it. Flexibility is so important. And it starts dropping early unless we actively maintain it. So not just about getting stronger, it's about staying flexible, too. And it's the kind of strength that we build that matters. We want movements that translate into real life, not just classic gym lifts. A lot of us grew up doing bench presses and bicep curls and triceps extensions. But the truth is, most of those things don't match the movements we actually do day to day. And I think that's part of the reason functional training has become such a big trend. Exercises that mimic real world movements and make your muscles work together, not in isolation. The goal isn't just lifting for the sake of lifting. It's lifting in a way that supports how your body actually moves. So with all that, what does actually help? Well, I think one golden rule. Switch up your routine. If you've been doing the same exercise for years, you're probably getting really good at those movements. But maybe not other things.
