The Mediterranean Diet and dementia have an encouraging research connection. In a large observational study, people whose eating habits most closely followed a Mediterranean-style pattern had a lower risk of developing dementia. What can we conclude from this study? How can your eating habits help prevent disease in the future? Keep reading for details about the study and practical tips for better nutrition.
Researchers followed 60,298 adults in the United Kingdom for an average of 9.1 years. The participants were ages 40 to 69 when they entered the study. Researchers compared their diets with two Mediterranean diet scoring systems and recorded new cases of dementia.
One system was the Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener, commonly shortened to MEDAS. It gives points for habits that fit a Mediterranean-style pattern, such as eating vegetables, fruit, legumes, fish, and olive oil. A higher score means closer adherence to the pattern.
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Can one daily multivitamin help you remain active and independent as you grow older? New research offers a cautiously encouraging answer. In a large randomized study, adults age 60 and older who took a daily multivitamin for three years reported slightly better functional health than those who took a placebo. Functional health includes how well you manage everyday activities and how much symptoms interfere with daily life.
The study included more than 16,000 participants from the COSMOS trial. The differences were modest and were measured with questionnaires rather than objective physical tests. The findings were presented at the NUTRITION 2026 conference but have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal. They are interesting, but they do not prove that a multivitamin prevents disability or treats fatigue, shortness of breath, or swelling in the feet. New or worsening symptoms like these require medical evaluation. 1
A multivitamin can help fill nutritional gaps, especially when appetite, food choices, medications, or changes in digestion make it difficult to obtain enough nutrients. It cannot replace a varied diet, exercise, sleep, prescribed treatment, or regular eye care. Evidence also does not show that routine multivitamin use prevents every chronic disease. The most sensible goal is nutritional support, not a promise of disease prevention. 2
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Sugary drinks and eye health may seem unrelated, but what you sip each day can affect much more than your thirst. A new long-term study found that people who consumed at least one sugar-sweetened drink daily had more than twice the risk of developing stomach cancer compared with people who rarely drank them. The study does not prove that sugary drinks caused the cancer, but the size of the association deserves attention.
Sodapop is not the only drink worth examining. Fruit punches, lemonades, sports drinks, energy drinks, sweetened coffees, and some electrolyte beverages can contain surprising amounts of added sugar. Cutting back does not mean that you should automatically switch to diet beverages containing artificial sweeteners. There are better everyday choices, including water, lemon water, coffee, tea, green tea, and drinks lightly sweetened with stevia.
How much sugar is hiding in your favorite drink? When do you actually need electrolytes? Are diet drinks a healthy substitute? This article examines the new stomach cancer research, the relationship between sugary drinks and eye health, the proper use of electrolyte beverages, and practical ways to reduce sugar without giving up every occasional treat.
A sugar-sweetened beverage is any drink containing sugar that was added during manufacturing or preparation. Common examples include:
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Oxidative stress may be at the root of many eye diseases. The body depends on a careful balance between oxidants and antioxidants. When that balance is disrupted, delicate tissues in the eye can be damaged. In this article, we will focus on an important antioxidant defense system called the Keap1-Nrf2-ARE pathway, abbreviated as NRF2. We will also look at how this system may relate to major eye diseases, including age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, and glaucoma—conditions that together account for many cases of vision loss and blindness worldwide.
Free radicals, such as reactive oxygen species (ROS), are oxidants produced as by-products of aerobic metabolism. In addition to the natural metabolic production of ROS, environmental sources such as light, smoking, and exposure to or intake of heavy metals also contribute to increased ROS burden. 1
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At Natural Eye Care, we want to keep our readers informed about new developments in health and wellness. Sometimes that means looking at breakthrough medical research, such as promising new cancer treatment technology or new findings about inflammation and Alzheimer’s disease. It also means helping you better understand how inflammation may affect eye health and sharing natural ways to support overall wellness. In this article, we bring these topics together to highlight how ongoing research and whole-body health can both contribute to long-term well-being.
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Scientific studies strongly suggest that artificial sweeteners, once thought to be safe alternatives to sugar, are linked to significant health risks. Key findings include increased risks of cardiovascular disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cognitive decline, and potential carcinogenicity.1 2 Artificial sweeteners discussed include erythritol, sucralose, and aspartame, which can alter gut microbiota,3 increase inflammation, and cause blood clotting.
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A large body of scientific research backs up the claim that astaxanthin is great for your body. As a potent antioxidant, astaxanthin scavenges free radicals that cause cellular damage. This benefits many parts of the body, including your skin, eyes, and brain. What is astaxanthin? Where does it come from? And what does the latest research say about its benefits?
Astaxanthin is a marine xanthophyll carotenoid primarily produced by microalgae like Haematococcus pluvialis. Dietary astaxanthin can be obtained through seafood, including salmon, trout, shrimp, and krill.
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If you’ve been diagnosed with an eye condition later in life, you’ve probably noticed that most “eye health” conversations focus on vitamins.1 Those can be important, but researchers are also exploring a different strategy: helping retinal cells survive stress.2
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Vitamin D is often called the “bone vitamin,” but that’s only part of the story. Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) also influences systems your eyes rely on every day—especially as we get older: inflammation control, immune regulation, oxidative stress protection, and even how the body manages blood vessel growth.
And here’s the real-world issue: most people don’t get enough vitamin D consistently. Food sources are limited, sunlight is seasonal and complex (plus many of us avoid it for skin health), and modern indoor life takes care of the rest.
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The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released its long-awaited update to the nation’s dietary guidelines on January 7, 2026, promising a “historic reset” that puts real, minimally processed food back at the center of American nutrition policy 1. Chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and obesity are high, and these guidelines aim to “Make America Healthy Again.”
On the other hand, the Mediterranean Diet is popular for its proven benefits in reducing the risk of chronic diseases and promoting long-term wellness. It focuses on plant-based meals, healthy fats, and a balanced lifestyle. At Natural Eye Care, we adapted the Mediterranean Diet specifically for people with vision issues and called it the Vision Diet. This diet includes additional recommendations on antioxidant intake, organic foods, and avoiding certain additives and fats 2.
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Natural Eye Care, Inc.
3 Paradies Lane
New Paltz, New York 12561
Phone: 845.475.4158
NaturalEyeCare™ started in 1999 to help the public and professionals learn about complementary care in eye disease treatment.
The information and recommendations we offer are based on over 30 years of peer review research and personal clinical experience which guides us in providing a valuable resource to our readers, customers and patients regarding maintaining healthy vision naturally.
We believe that vision health is intimately connected to overall mental, physical and spiritual health. Therefore we encourage people to look at their overall lifestyle and diet as part of keeping healthy vision and reducing the risk of eye disease onset. This includes diet, regular exercise, and management of daily stress. If one has health issues such as high blood pressure, a thyroid imbalance, any autoimmune disease and/or are on medication(s), these possible contributions to eye disease should considered when working with your health care professional.
Please do not hesitate to call us at 845.475.4158 with any questions and concerns.
