Holistic healing

Health: Carole Caplin on keeping your eyes healthy

This month the UK’s top lifestyle and fitness expert focuses on eye health

This month the UK’s top lifestyle and fitness expert focuses on eye health
I like to think that given my job I have a pretty good command of my body. Working more and more with disability and injury/skeletal specific problems I have also developed a significant repertoire of knowledge and skills. But nothing I do or write and advise about prepared me for a recent experience I had when my friend Rachael invited me to a charity event to raise funds for retinitis pigmentosa (RS), a genetic eye condition that leads to incurable blindness.

Rachael was diagnosed with RS at 14 when she exhibited one of the first symptoms – night blindness. Whereas all her peers were effortlessly navigating dark pubs and restaurants with ease, she would bump into the tables and fall down steps. For a long time, it seemed easier to say that she was tipsy than admit to the condition. As she’s got older, her peripheral vision also begun to be affected. Countless times she’s been at parties and someone’s offered her their hand to shake, or a glass of wine to drink, and she’s simply not seen it. It has been up to her husband to grab the drink (and sometimes the hand!) on her behalf, or give her a discreet warning nudge.

Her other senses – especially hearing – have become much sharper as well (when crossing roads, even with the green man on display, she listens carefully for the familiar swish of a cyclist as they often try and jump the lights and won’t know that she can’t see them). She tries to minimise the likelihood of accidents by not wearing high heels and has also got much better at asking help from strangers – the white symbol cane she now carries helps broach the topic more easily.

The charity event was hosted by BBC presenter and journalist Jeremy Vine. Sixty diners, including Jeremy and myself, ate in complete pitch darkness at Dans Le Noir in Clerkenwell, London – a restaurant popular with Prince William and Kate, Russell Brand and Katy Perry.

“For a long time it seemed easier to say she was tipsy than to admit to the condition”

In the dark

Part of the Dans Le Noir experience is the fact that, not only are you unable to see your fellow diners, but the menu itself is kept a surprise until you leave the dark room. This really heightens the overall sensual experience and challenges your taste buds. I could not believe how shaky and claustrophobic I felt. For what felt like the first 20 minutes I had to close my This month the UK’s top lifestyle and fitness expert focuses on eye health eyes, lay my head on my arms on the table and deep breath for what seemed like an eternity. My dining partners told me it was no more than five minutes. When I opened my eyes I could feel my eyes trying to widen in pursuit of any sign of light, images, anything! Slowly I started to switch to my other senses of sound, smell and physical sensations, such as someone brushing past me. The staff serving us were blind and their adeptness at serving the meal and guiding us was extraordinary.

Eating was the strangest experience and I still don’t know what I ate and decided to eat with my fingers. It was delicious. Despite dreading the experience, it was an enlightening and inspiring evening, totally outside of my comfort zone that I wouldn’t have missed for anything. For more info visit the RP Fighting Blindness charity at rpfightingblindness.org.uk or call the helpline on 0845 123 2354.

IT’S ALL IN THE EYES

Try these self-help health tips from master nutritionist Gareth Zeal to keep your eyes in tip-top condition

One of the simplest ways to maintain healthy eyes is to eat a portion of dark purple fruits and they do not need to be exotic south American fruits either. Prunes are roughly three time more effective than blueberries and a lot less expensive. Cherries, blackcurrants, blueberries, plums and blackberries all contain bioflavonoids (water-soluble pigments) that have been shown to improve night blindness, reduce the risk of cataracts, diabetic retinopathies and generally help preserve the integrity of the eye. In addition eating carotenoid-rich vegetables like tomatoes and carrots also reduces the risk of macular degeneration and work even better when they are consumed with some olive or coconut oil.

Carole Caplin works out of the Bowskill Clinic, 4 Duke Street, London W1U 3EL. Call 020 7486 6523 or visit bowskillclinic.com

Article by

Carole Caplin

Health and Wellbeing Expert

is a leading UK health and wellbeing expert and and physical fitness coach

Discover more

Article by

Carole Caplin

Health and Wellbeing Expert

is a leading UK health and wellbeing expert and and physical fitness coach

Discover more