Eat Your Way to Healthier Eyes

Warmer weather brings an abundance of fruits and vegetables. Although the produce differs depending on your location, many of the season’s garden-fresh foods supply vitamins and nutrients that are important for eye health. Carotinoids are natural pigments in plants and animals that are essential for vision. They contain vitamin A, which bolsters night vision and helps prevent cataracts. Vitamin A is plentiful in peppers, corn, tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, citrus fruit, peaches, mangos, and red grapes.

Lutein, a yellow pigment found in green leafy vegetables, may prevent age-related macular degeneration and cataracts. It also filters blue wavelengths from sunlight, which reduces free-radical damage to your eyes. Lutein is plentiful in spring and summer produce like spinach, turnips, and kale. These leafy greens also contain fatty acids from the Omega-3 and Omega-6 groups, which are necessary for the

development of children’s eyes and prevention of impaired vision in adults.

It’s best to eat seasonal vegetables raw or slightly cooked in order to ensure their vitamins and nutrients are preserved. Don’t forget about fresh fruit juices, which are an excellent way to increase your vitamin levels.

In an age where we experience increased eyestrain and tension due to computer use and environmental factors, it is especially important to care for vision health. And when it comes to health of any sort, there is no substitute for a well-rounded, nutritious diet.

Wiley X is making a donation to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation® (BCRF) for every pair of Lacey sunglasses they sell. They’ve pledged $2.50 for each non-polarized pair and $3.50 for each Lacey with polarized lenses sold through the end of 2010.

The mission of BCRF is to achieve prevention and a cure for breast cancer in our lifetime by providing critical funding for innovative research at leading medical centers worldwide, and increasing public awareness about good breast health.

A minimum of 85 cents of every dollar goes to research and awareness programs."We’re fortunate that our Laceys have gained such widespread popularity, and we are honored to have the chance to partner with such a successful, well-respected organization like BCRF in this fight for a cure," says Myles Freeman, President of Sales for Wiley X. "This is a chance for us to do our part in raising money and awareness, and this worthy cause deserves our attention and our efforts to make a difference."

It’s a typical day for Natalie Gulbis. It began, like most, on the golf course practicing. Then she had lunch with one of her favorite charities, the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. And right now she is "doing a little media," which in this case is talking to us here at 20/20. Finally, the day will end much in the way it began-practicing on the golf course. Such is the busy life of a professional golfer.

"I needed them to cover the face and still have performance qualities. I was wearing Chanel and other designer sunglasses off the course. Adidas and Silhouette [who has the license for Adidas] wanted my feedback so they told me to bring my favorite sunglasses to show them. They asked me what I wore off the golf course.

I wanted the sunglasses to look good and perform well. I also needed dark enough lenses that helped me see better on the golf course when the sun was strong."

Adidas was able to deliver her sunwear that was both performance-driven and fashionable. Gulbis was impressed and soon learned the importance of lens technology. "The Adidas lens uses a light stabilizing technology," explains the golfer. "I was finding that with other sports performance glasses there was a bowl affect-a distortion. It made me dizzy when I went to hit the ball. The Adidas sunwear had a lens that was authentic. It didn’t change the integrity of what I was looking at."

Whether she’s competing or practicing (or both), Gulbis can be out on the golf course for up to nine hours on a single day so lens technology that addresses a variety of light issues is critical. "There are times when I use frames that allow me to change the lens," she explains. "When I play somewhere that’s overcast, like the British Open, I wear a lighter lens. When I play on the tour out west, like in Arizona, where the sun is very strong, I wear darker lenses. The studies don’t lie about eye fatigue and too much sun exposure. It’s so important to wear glasses on the golf course."

Gulbis has spent a lot of time on the green. Born in Sacramento, Calif., she began playing golf at the age of four thanks to her father, who taught her how to hit the ball. "I loved playing golf with my dad," she says. "I loved spending time with my dad and fell in love with the sport." She won her first tournament when she was seven and at age 10, she first broke par. A few years later, at 14, she won the California State Women’s Amateur and became the youngest player to qualify for an LPGA event-the Longs Drug Challenge.

As a pro, Gulbis had her breakout season in 2005, finishing tied for third at the Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill and the State Farm Classic, earning more than $1 million for the first time in her career. Her first LPGA Tour victory came in 2007 at the Evian Masters, where she birdied the first hole of a sudden-death playoff.

As her own career evolves, Natalie Gulbis’ main objective is to win one of the LPGA’s four major competitions. "I’d like to win a major," she admits. "I’ve come close, but it’s not the same as winning." And when she does, Adidas will be right there helping her keep her eyes clearly focused on the prize.

-Reprinted with permission from 20/20 Magazine

New Twist on Old Ray-Ban Classic

Ray-Ban has launched a new Wayfarer style, Subway, inspired by the screen-printed concert posters of Aesthetic Apparatus.  Founded in 1999 in Madison, Wisconsin by Dan Ibarra and Michael Byzewski, the company was a fun side project from their "real" jobs. Over the years their limited edition posters have won the hearts and minds of music-savvy, design-loving nerds. Their work has been featured in design magazines and books, including the recent Chronicle Books rock art bible "The Art of Modern Rock." All of which makes Aesthetic Apparatus, in their words, "a full-time, full-fledged, insanely unstoppable, and occasionally award-winning design mega-studio that will break your heart and drink your blood." Check out the Original Wayfarer page to see these designs and others from the new Rare Prints collection.