For centuries, herbalists have used bilberry both medicinally and in food. Bilberry contains chemicals that may help prevent a number of illnesses including eye disorders such as macular degeneration and cataracts. A cataract is a cloudy film that occurs over the normally clear lens of the eye, thereby causing poor vision. If you are considering using bilberry to treat cataracts, consult your physician to discuss its risks and potential benefits.
Bilberry
Bilberry is perennial shrub characterized by wrinkled berries and sharp green branches. Bilberry is a relative to cranberries, blueberries and huckleberries with a taste similar to the American blueberry. Herbalists have used bilberry to treat chronic venous insufficiency, atherosclerosis, diarrhea, wounds and diabetes. Bilberry contains anthocyanosides, a type of antioxidant. Antioxidants move through your body looking for damaging particles known as free radicals that can cause cellular damage leading to heart disease, cancer and many other long-term illnesses.
Cataracts
Cataracts develop slowly, affecting your eyesight during later stages of the disease. The cause of cataracts is most commonly aging or injury to the tissues of your eye lens. The lens of your eye sits behind the colored part of the eye. This lens focuses light that passes into your eye and projects images onto your retina. As you age, the eyes lens becomes thicker and less transparent and flexible. This leads to break down of tissues in the lens, which clump together and cloud areas of the lens. Over time, the clouding becomes denser and involves more area of the lens. As of 2011, the only evidence-based treatment effective for cataracts is surgery.
Bilberry and Vision
Bilberry contains vitamin C, another powerful antioxidant that helps maintain connective tissue including collagen around the cornea of the eye. All About Vision explains that studies suggest that long-term vitamin C consumption may help reduce the risk of cataracts. Scientists also theorize that anthocyanosides found in bilberry fruits may help treat vision problems such as retinopathy, macular degeneration and cataracts. However, clinical trial results have produced mixed results. More research is necessary before the medical community embraces bilberry as a treatment for cataracts.
Warnings
Bilberry does not have any reported side effects but it may interfere with medications. Anthocyanosides in bilberry may interfere with clotting, thereby increasing the risk of bleeding. Bilberry may also lower blood sugar levels so taking it in conjunction with diabetes medications may lead to excessively low blood sugar.
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