Longevity: Keeping Your Body, Mind and Vision Healthy Longer

Living a long, healthy life is not just about genetics or luck—it is about understanding how your daily choices, emotions, and even your gut health can influence your overall well-being. Modern science and ancient wisdom both highlight the deep connections between mind, body, and vision. In this article, we explore how emotions like anger, the health of your gut, and the balance of your body’s systems all play a crucial role in supporting longevity and protecting your eyesight. Whether you are aiming to stay sharp, energetic, and clear-sighted as you age or simply want to take a more holistic approach to your health, you will find practical insights and actionable tips to help you thrive for years to come.

Positive Emotions Increase Longevity

Emotional disturbances can impact eye health by altering the function of the eye muscles, disrupting circulation and energy pathways, and affecting the nervous system. This can lead to symptoms such as blurry vision, eye fatigue, ocular migraines, and elevated eye pressure. These effects may also aggravate pre-existing eye conditions, including glaucoma.

Anger, when in balance, supports motivation and energy. Anger is linked to ‘high optimism, positive expectations and experiences of high coping potential, ¹ along with reaching obtainable rewards (and goals). ² It is associated with perceived task ease, as compared with sadness which is associated with greater perceived task difficulty. ³

In Traditional Chinese medicine, keeping one’s emotions in balance supports long term health. The emotion “anger” when in balance can provide energy and support motivation to achieve more in life. When out of balance, then it can have the opposite results in disturbing healthy social relationships, and can result in a wide range of health issues including: hypertension, stomach/digestive and elimination issues, poor sleeping, migraine headaches, and glaucoma, for example.

A study from the American Heart Association reveals that even short bursts of anger may raise the risk of heart attack and stroke.⁴ This happens by disrupting blood flow and harming the vascular endothelium—the thin, single-cell layer lining the interior of arteries, veins, capillaries, and lymphatic vessels. The endothelium functions not only as a protective barrier but also plays a vital role in metabolic, hormonal, and immune system processes.

Chronic anger has been shown to significantly raise the likelihood of coronary artery disease in middle-aged men. Research indicates that men with the highest levels of anger are up to three times more prone to developing heart disease compared to those who remain calm and even-tempered. ⁵

In another study focusing on men, experiencing angry feelings and expressing them aggressively over 20 years were related to increased risk of dying from cardiovascular disease and cancer. ⁶

When you feel anger, stop and remember to breathe, taking in long, slow breaths. Anger increases your breathing rate. It tenses up your shoulder, neck and back muscles, and increases blood pressure.

Chronic anger can lead to weight gain, gastric ulcers, and gastroesophageal reflux disease, among other problems. Furthermore, it can cause blood sugar levels to fall out of balance, suppress thyroid function, impact the immune system and decrease bone density.

Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Liver

According to traditional Chinese medicine, the Liver meridian is closely linked to eye health, as it “opens to the eyes” and governs the flow of energy and circulation throughout the body. Anger is the primary emotion tied to the Liver. The Liver is responsible for storing blood, regulating blood volume, maintaining muscle and tendon health, and ensuring strong, healthy nails.

The Liver meridian pathway begins at the inner corner of the big toe, travels up the inside of the leg and thigh, passes around the pubic region, and moves upward through the abdomen and chest to connect with the liver and gall bladder. From there, it travels up the side of the throat to the eyes and forehead, with additional branches reaching the cheeks, lips, and lungs.

When the Liver is out of balance, symptoms may include persistent resentment, depression, irritability, mood swings, and anger. Physical manifestations can range from headaches and tinnitus to chest tightness, increased blood or eye pressure, and digestive issues like acid reflux (GERD).

The Liver Meridian and Eye Conditions

Various eye disorders are commonly linked to imbalances in the Liver meridian. These may include nearsightedness (myopia), astigmatism, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), retinitis pigmentosa, presbyopia, dry eyes, eye floaters, glaucoma, Stargardt’s disease, cataracts, as well as redness and dryness of the eyes. Other eye issues include: photophobia, bloodshot eyes, poor night vision, blurry vision, and ocular migraines.

Longevity and Brain Health

Prolonged or frequent anger can negatively impact brain function, potentially leading to issues with decision-making, memory, and even neuron loss in certain brain regions.

The behavioral and physiological impact of chronic anger compromises the efficiency of cognitive processing.

Both faciliatory and impairing effects of anger have the potential to occur, with the direction and the magnitude of anger eventually affecting motivation and drive (e.g. obtainable reward ⁷ and individual differences, and even affecting testosterone levels. ⁸)

Anger keeps one in a state of the “flight and fight” mode, designed to enable the body and mind to respond quickly to danger. In a chronic state, it can cause one to overreact to common day events, resulting in having poor relationships at work and with friends and relatives, and in more acute occurrences, resulting in instances of violent reactions such as road rage. It can also result in negative output at work.

Anger stimulates cortisone production, and affects different parts of the brain including: the amygdala, prefrontal cortex, hypothalamus, and hippocampus to signal threats, trigger a “fight or flight” response, and process emotions. The amygdala identifies threats and initiates reactions, while the prefrontal cortex regulates these responses and provides judgment. The insula helps map the body’s physical state during anger, and the hypothalamus orchestrates the physiological response, including stress hormone release.

Anger and the Gut Microbiome

Anger and gut imbalances are linked through the brain-gut axis, where anger triggers the fight-or-flight response, flooding the body with stress hormones that slow digestion, increase gut sensitivity, and alter the gut microbiome. Symptoms can include bloating, diarrhea and cramps, as well as mood changes.

Optimal gut health is closely connected to proper functioning of the central nervous system (CNS). ⁹ The relationship between the gut and brain influences hormone regulation, neurotransmitter production, and immune system responses. Substances produced in the gut can communicate with the brain either directly or through the autonomic nervous system. Research indicates that the gut-brain axis (GBA) goes beyond just the digestive and nervous systems, also involving endocrine, neural, and immune pathways. ¹⁰

Recent research has highlighted how differences in the gut microbiome can influence a range of central nervous system (CNS) conditions, such as anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, and autism spectrum disorders. ^{11 12 13}

Imbalances in the gut microbiome are often associated with poor diets, such as where the diet consists of high amounts of carbohydrates versus people eating high amounts of protein. ¹⁴

When the human microbiome is challenged with changes in diet, stress, or antibiotics, the physiology of the normal microbiome undergoes change. This can lead to “leaky gut syndrome”, which results from increased intestinal permeability and allows contents such as bacterial metabolites and molecules as well as bacteria themselves to leak through the submucosa and into the systemic circulation. This leads to increased intestinal permeability, which is detrimental to the immune system. It can result in diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), diabetes, asthma, and psychiatric disorders including depression, anxiety, and autism. ^{15 16 17 18}

Coupled with the increase in intestinal permeability, certain cytokines and neurotransmitter molecules travel systemically. Elevated blood levels of cytokines TNF-a and MCP (monocyte chemoattractant protein) increases the permeability of the blood-brain barrier, enhancing the effects of rogue molecules from the permeable gut. ^{19 20} The blood-brain barrier keeps unwanted materials from reaching the brain. When compromised, it can lead to dementia-related diseases.

The release of elevated cytokines and MCP influences brain function, leading to anxiety, depression, and memory loss. ^{21 22}

Probiotics are live microorganisms, most commonly beneficial strains of bacteria and yeast. They help bring the intestinal flora back in balance by flooding the intestines with “good bacteria”. These have been utilized as supplements as alternative treatments for anxiety and depression, as well as countering the negative effects on ongoing use of antibiotics on the gut flora. They also can help reduce related inflammation that can happen due to gut microbiome imbalances.

Gut Imbalances and Vision Issues

Gut imbalances, or gut dysbiosis, are increasingly linked to several vision problems through the “gut-eye axis” by influencing the immune system and systemic inflammation. Imbalances in gut microbiota, known as gut dysbiosis, may play a significant role in the development and progression of various eye conditions, such as uveitis, dry eye syndrome, macular degeneration, glaucoma, ²³ and chalazions.

The composition of intestinal bacteria is believed to be a key factor in promoting inflammatory eye diseases. ²⁴

Macular Degeneration

Research has shown that consuming a high glycemic index (GI) diet can influence the microscopic structure of tissues affected by dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Additionally, people with dry AMD have been found to have distinct gut microbiota composition and metabolic activity compared to individuals without the condition. Studies propose that the gut microbiota associated with the influence of its metabolites can be considered as a biomarker for AMD and can be potentially targeted for therapeutic treatment approaches of the disease. ^{25 26}

Open-Angle Glaucoma (POAG)

Numerous factors are linked to the development of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). Research has identified two specific bacterial strains that may be associated with POAG, noting changes in the gut microbiome—especially in the proportions of Bacteroides and Prevotella species. ^{27 28}

Furthermore, a high number of nuclear genes have been linked to POAG, many of which are involved in mitochondrial function. ²⁹ Mitochondrial dysfunction leads to a decreased rate of respiration, which can result in an increased susceptibility to retinal ganglion cell damage. ³⁰

Many mitochondrial functions are protective against glaucomatous optic neuropathy. ³¹ Mitochondrial malfunction may also be related to normal tension glaucoma.

Studies have observed that individuals with glaucoma, as well as those with normal tension glaucoma, tend to have a higher prevalence of H. pylori infection compared to the general population. ³² A recent meta-analysis linked H. pylori to an increased risk of normal tension glaucoma and open-angle glaucoma. ³³

Gut imbalances can correlate with chronic inflammation. One study showed a relationship between tooth loss and glaucoma diagnosis. ³⁴ Low-grade inflammation is often associated with tooth decay.

Chronic and low-grade inflammation caused by oral dysbiosis is a trigger of glaucomatous damage.

Epigenetic changes in retinal ganglion cells may also be related to alterations in glaucoma. This epigenetically altered homeostasis could be related to alterations in the gut microbiota.

Dry Eye Syndrome

Dry eye syndrome is a multifactorial disease of the tear and the ocular surface. There are many factors related to producing healthy tears, which include the microbiome being in balance. One study is characterized by all bacterial and viral components of the ocular surface microbiota, determined to be similar to the gut microbiome. ³⁵ Even a single component diminution can alter this homeostasis, triggering dry eye disease (DED) and promoting the vicious cycle of the disease. Ocular microbiota impairment is evident in chronic contact lens users and Dry Eye Disease. This may also be related to the development of Sjögren’s Disease.

Chalazion

Chalazion is a subacute or chronic inflammation of the meibomian gland. It is defined as the simultaneous or subsequent occurrence of multiple Chalazia, which can be sporadic or recurring. Several factors have been connected to Chalazion including: constitutional atopic and seborrhoeic dermatitis; hormonal imbalance; immunological factors; irritable bowel disease; iatrogenic infections (which is related to illness caused by medical examination or treatment). ^{36 37}

Consuming too much saturated fat can alter the types of lipids produced by the meibomian glands, potentially leading to lipid buildup within the gland and recurring chalazia. Additionally, disturbances in the natural balance of the eye’s surface microbiome may significantly contribute to repeated occurrences of this condition. ³⁸

A range of environmental influences—such as dietary choices, exposure to toxins, use of certain medications like antibiotics, and contact with pathogens—can disrupt the natural balance of the microbiome. ³⁹

Lifestyle Considerations

Eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly, take breaks to stretch and relax. Instead of sitting at lunch, take a nice walk. Try practicing yoga, Qi Gong, or other methods of relaxation. Seek out healthy relationships that support you and positive thinking. Try positive visualizations in the mornings and/or at bedtime. Remember to breathe.

For more information on our vision diet, go to https://naturaleyecare.com/articles/mediterranean-diet/

For juicing recipes, go to https://naturaleyecare.com/eye-disease-prevention/juicing-food-for-your-eyes/

Suggested Supplements

Dr. Grossman’s Complete Eye Formula 2oz (oral spray) (NEW)

Dr. Grossman’s Complete Eye (oral Spray)/Meso Plus Combo Package

Advanced Eye & Vision Support Formula (whole food) 60 vcaps

Dr. Grossman’s Advanced Eye and Dr. G’s Whole Food Superfood Multi1 20 Vcap Combo – 2 months supply

ReVision Formula (wild-crafted herbal formula) 2 oz – based on classic Chinese medicine Liver tonic formula to help support healthy circulation and blood flow throughout the eyes and body.

Dr. Grossman’s Retinal Support (wild-crafted herbal formula) 2 oz – helps support blood nourishment to the eyes, as well as reducing inflammation and supporting digestive and nutrient distribution.

Dr. Grossman’s Bilberry/Ginkgo Combination 2oz (60ml)

Eyeganics Organic Eyedrops for Dry Eye Relief (.3 fl. oz) (NEW) – organic, natural dry eye formulation.

Dr. Grossman’s EyeEase Formula 2 fl oz – for helping reduce the symptoms of low-grade external eye inflammation. Can be taken in internally and used as part of an eye compress.

H2 Elite Molecular Hydrogen 60 tabs – helps promote oxygen to the eyes and body overall.

NMN Wonderfeel Capsul 60 vegcaps  – helps reduce inflammation and protects the ganglion cell in the retina and optic nerves.

Recommended Books

Natural Eye Care: Your Guide to Healthy Vision and Healing

Natural Brain Support: Your Guide to Preventing and Treating Alzheimer’s, Dementia, and Other Related Diseases Naturally

Natural Parkinson’s Support: Your Guide to Preventing and Managing Parkinson’s