It Starts with a Square

Season for Healthy Habits

BY Regan Hewitt

It’s fall and as the leaves change into their vibrant hues, unlock vibrant health with these amazing tips provided by a local optometrist and health coach duo that have their ‘Eye on Nutrition’.

Local optometrist, Dr. Brandon Walley, believes that fall is a great time to schedule an annual eye exam because the days are getting shorter, which means more instances of driving after dark. If you are not seeing as well as you should or used to, the first place you will notice it is while driving at night. It’s best to go ahead and schedule your appointment now, instead of waiting to squeeze it in during the holiday season.  

Even though temperatures are cooler in the fall, the sun’s rays are just as powerful and can cause damage to eyes. Be sure to wear your sunglasses during the peak daylight hours to protect your eyes and reduce your risk of cataracts and other eye diseases.  

Take advantage of the cooler temperatures and spend more time outside soaking up a little Vitamin D before it’s too cold. Most of us have lower Vitamin D levels during the winter months, which can contribute to poor immunity as well as increase the risk for eye infections, such as pink eye. Being outdoors is also good for preventing nearsightedness in children. Be sure to encourage them to spend time outside playing.  

On the nutrition front, fall is the time for enjoying colorful produce according to Health Coach, Nancy Fain! Caramelizing fall veggies is a win-win for solving sweet cravings. Why not try a new vegetable throughout the week? Select from a variety of squashes, golden beets, turnips or celery root. Your gut will benefit from the microbiological diversity because it helps strengthen your immune system. 

Looking for a dessert that doesn’t involved processed junk food? Try sautéing sliced apples or pears in good fats, such as grass-fed butter, with a dash of cinnamon!  

Fall is definitely the time for a warm beverage to soothe the soul. The polyphenols in coffee act as protective antioxidants and favorably impact gut bacteria. Coffee has been associated with a reduced risk for development of type 2 diabetes and dementia. Try to have one cup of plain black coffee to get a larger dose of antioxidants, then, treat yourself to cup number two (or three or four if you wish) with an almond milk creamer. 

Tea drinking is also a comforting ritual when there’s a nip in the air. Black and oolong teas are excellent for digestion. Flavonols like theaflavin, which give dark tea its color, increase the number of healthy bacteria in the gut. They also help the absorption of fats and sugars in food.

The catechins in green tea help reduce pathogens in the gut. Green tea is also beneficial for eye health, with the catechins protecting delicate eye tissues. Catechins can also boost calorie burn and suppress sugar cravings. 

Bio: Dr. Brandon Walley and Health Coach Nancy Fain have an Eye on Nutrition for their patients and clients in Collierville. As an optometrist and health coach, they are a unique partnership, able to educate the community about how the immune system reacts to what goes into the gut and the ways that stress can affect eye health. For more information, see Dr. Brandon Walley’s and Health Coach Nancy Fain here.

September/October 2021 Tour Collierville Magazine