I work swing shift and over the last 5 years or so I noticed I was becoming night blind. Well one of the men we camp near during hunting season and I were talking about this. Bob Scott was a B-17 pilot during WWII and flew the 50 some odd missions over Germany. He said that they(Yanks) flew the day missions and the Brits flew the night missions. He also said the RAF fed the flyers supplements to improve their ability to see in the dark and to improve their recovery time should they be dazzled by white light during a mission. After WWII he did a total of 30 years in the USAF and ran the first B-52 wing.The guy's a pleasure to talk to. But I digress.

It seems one of the chemicals your eyes need to process information in poor light(darkness) is called retinal purple. It allows your eyes to deepen their contrast processing capabilities which translates to having better vision in the dark. Well Bob said the RAF fed their flyers jam made from Bil Berrys(I have no idea what they are) and blue berrys(I know what they are).These berrys are good sources of retinal purple.

Anyway about 2 years ago I started eating a 1/3rd cup of raw blueberrys a day.We buy them frozen at the store.I also have blueberry jam on the weekend on pancakes,toast etc. Guess what? I can now see very well driving home from work. I can also see in color everything that is in my headlights and sometimes when the moon is full I can see in color without any light.It took about a month for this transformation to work and for me it was well worth it. He also said since vision was so critical for pilots there was a vitamin he took to keep his eyes sharp so he could keep his license (remember, this guy's in his 70's and had been flying since '43). The vitamin is called Ocuvite.(Eye Life?). I don't know but the idea works for me.I don't take it but his advice on the berry thing worked like a champ. Besides, I like blueberrys.And I can see at night which may be a real good thing to be able to do in the future.

-- nine (nine_fingers@hotmail.com), December 20, 1998

Answers

You are correct about the bilberry supplements. I've used them for some time now, and have noticed a significant improvement in my dim light eyesight. So much so, that bright light is uncomfortable. I've always been a non-bright sunlight type person, but it's gotten more pronounced. Eye doctor says all is well, so I'm not worrying about it.

You can also get some improvement by taking beta carotine supplements, or preferably by getting it in the food you eat.

-- Bill (billclo@hotmail.com), December 20, 1998.

In case you're interested, here's some discussion about bilberries from the sci.astro newsgroup (astronomers and suchlike):

http://fermi.jhuapl.edu/s1r/amastro/tools/bilberry.html

Sounds like a visit to the General Nutrition store may be in order.

-- Mac (sneak@lurk.com), December 21, 1998.