Just as we use wallpaper paste to hold wallpaper to the wall, in the eyeball a type of biological “glue” holds the retina to the back of the eye. This glue is dependent on our nutrition.

I have concluded that the people who are most prone to retinal tears and retinal detachment are those with low vitamin C levels or defects in vitamin C utilization.

Hints at such a problem would be those with recurrent hemorrhoids, those with severe varicose veins, and in smokers (who have very low vitamin C levels even with a normal intake of vitamin C).

Other nutrients are also used to make this biological glue, such as lysine, zinc, magnesium, and anthrocyanins (found in bilberry, grape seed extract, and purple cabbage). Hesperidin chalcone has also been shown to significantly strengthen such tissues and tissue glue. Here are some suggested dosages:

• Vitamin C (buffered ascorbate) — 2,000 mg twice to three times a day between meals

• Hesperidin chalcone — 500 mg three times a day

• Bilberry — 120 mg twice a day dissolved in water or juice

• Grape seed extract — 225 mg twice a day

• Lysine — 500 mg twice a day taken 30 minutes before a meal

• Magnesium malate — time release, two caplets twice a day

• Zinc — 30 mg twice a week

• Lutein — 20 mg a day