"Health Sciences Institute" and eye relaxation

Tisbe

A Disturbance in the Force
Hello everyone, I hope this won't be a mess since there are different subjects involved.

After reading an article published in SOTT by Jon Barron (https://www.sott.net/articles/show/242194-Unproven-Medicine-Yet-Again) I got interested in him so I visited his website and checked his biography (_http://www.jonbarron.org/natural-health/biography-jon-barron). First I didn't like the kind of "nutrition guru" look that gave off the biography but well I kept on reading.

Of course I can't check if he actually recieved his degrees at Harvard and MIT but I was curious about his constributions. The only thing I could keep on searching in was the Health Sciences Institute (_http://hsionline.com/) where he is member of the advisory panel. It seems that the main website of the Health Science Institute (HSI) doesn't provide a link to view the advisory panel, though you can read previous archieves about health, buy products and become a member. To find the advisory panel and info about the HSI director (Jenny Thompson) you should find the autralian edition (_http://hsiaustralia.com.au/meet-the-hsi-advisory-panel/). I didn't understand the difference between both sites but what I was surprised of the most were three adds at the lateral bar in (__http://hsionline.com/). They claimed to have a cure for diabetes, improve your sexual life and heal your vision as to not use glasses anymore.

The adds to get a cure for diabetes and improve your sexual life, take you to a video/presentation where the first minutes are pure merchandising tactics, talking about the great results you will get with this product of which they haven't told you anything about yet. To be honest I didn't wait till the end of the videos, I got tired of listening to blah blah. The third add to heal your vision takes you to a poor written site (_https://www.web-purchases.com/640SPAVIS1/WHSIKAA9/landing.html) where you are offered a method and exercices by Cambridge Institute. There you can't find info or a link to this Institute, just a button to order the product (the link is broken by the way). Ok, so if you want to learn more about Cambridge Institute you find that it's real name is "Cambridge Institute for better vision" (_http://www.bettervision.com/), the first one is an International Education Center.

Let's keep on with HSI. I found 3 comments from ex-members of the site at (_http://www.ripoffreport.com/directory/health-sciences-institute.aspx). You can visit the link to read them by yourself but to summarize: they got a mail per month with few health information and a lot of info to purchase their products, books that promise to give you the cure for "x thing" and lead you to buy another book, or an add offering you a cure for diabetes that sends you a video after paying $19.95 where you are given the name of a japanese product that is not even sold in US (they don't warn you about that before paying).

So, seems clear that at least (_http://hsionline.com/) sounds a bit fishy. I don't know if is the same Health Sciences Institute as the one Jon Barron works for. I would really like to know.

And finally, after I found Cambridge Institue for Better Vision I took a look at their website. I had already heard about eye relaxation techniques but just from a group that was a bit "New Age like" and claimed to teach you how to autoheal by means of balancing your chakras. I didn't like this all New Age thingy so didn't trust at all about eye relaxation method to improve your vision. I got curious anyway so I read about the Institute. The only member of the staff you are shown in the About us section is Mr. Martin Sussman. They say he has appeared on NBC and CCN programs. I'm not american so I would appreciate any prove of that. Mr. Sussman anyway admits not being optometrist or ophtalmologist, he has a degree in psychology though their products are developed with two doctors: Dr. Ray Gottlieb and Dr. Gary Price Todd. The second one, Dr. Price Todd has written a book about the nutrients needed to improve your eye's health and cure several diseases realted. From the comments I read, he is described as a "different" ophtalmologist opting for an holistic view to treat diseases.

The Better Vision Program consist of a series of exercices to improve the flexibility of you ocular muscles. I think it's based on Bates Method. What I'm surprised of is a few things they say in the FAQs section.

  • Their opinion about myopia:
    Isn't nearsightedness (myopia) caused by the shape of the eye?
    Sure, that's one common belief, but in fact it's a misconception. This limited view of vision says that if the eye is too long that is supposed to cause nearsightedness; if it’s too short that is supposed to cause farsightedness; and if the shape of the eye is distorted, that causes astigmatism.

    But the shape of the eye is only one element of the entire visual system, and it is not the only one that determines how clearly you see. Besides, has anyone ever asked how the eye becomes the wrong shape?

    There are three real causes of poor vision: First, the visual habit patterns that a person has developed - how the visual centers of the brain work with the eyes; second, tension in the eyes and body, and third, mental and emotional stress and strain and patterns of not seeing.

    To get better vision you want to re-train the way that the brain uses the eyes and restore the proper visual habits necessary for clearer vision.

    Sometimes, when a person’s vision improves, the shape of the eye changes. Sometimes it is because the lens becomes more flexible and can adjust more easily to focus at different distances. And other times, there are other factors at play in the improvement.

    The main thing to understand is that the shape and function of the eyes aren't frozen.
  • Their arguments about research that contribute to defend their method:
    My doctor says eye exercises don't work. What should I do?
    Natural vision improvement is a hotly debated topic.
    Ask most eye doctors about it, and they'll tell you there's no proof that it works.
    However, what they won't tell you is that there is no proof that it doesn't work, either.
    That's why we put The Program for Better Vision to the test before we released it.
    Click here if you want to know the results of that study.
    There hasn't been enough research to prove either side - one way or the other.
    However, to say that there hasn't been enough research doesn't mean that there hasn't been any.
    Here are just two examples:
    1. In 1941, the U.S. Navy gave vision training to its pilots so they would recognize enemy aircraft sooner. It was discovered that the training also made the pilots' vision sharper.
    2. In 1958, Charles Kelley's research demonstrated conclusively that practice of certain techniques improved eyesight. His research appeared in optometric journals as well as mainstream media, including The New York Times.
    Natural vision improvement research has continued since then.
    You'd think that all the research that exists would encourage further research, but that hasn't been the case.
    Instead, most eye doctors and research are more interested in studying surgery and drugs.
    The sad truth is that you'll go blind waiting for the research to catch up to the facts.
    And the facts are that every single day people around the world are putting the power of vision improvement to work for their own eyes - and getting results.
    Click here to see what happens to people who were nearsighted or had astigmatism.
    Click here to see what happens to people who needed reading glasses.
    Click here to see what happens to people who had cataracts, Macular Degeneration and glaucoma.
    So, they link to a study made by themselves and without documentation related to the results. They link to "stories" supposedly written by clients.
  • Even though nothing shown has convinced me, there is a list of supposed ophtalmologist that trust the method and use it on their patients, according to their comments.

So, my question is aimed to anyone who have used their services or similar methods based on eye relaxation. Are they trustworthy? Could any professional ophtalmologist give his/her opinion about it please?

And of course, the first question about Jon Barron an his relation to Health Sciences Institute.

Mod's note: SOTT link has been activated since it is a great source of info. ;)
 
Yes I have, and other people I know have. Eye exercises are very easy to do. They make complete sense when you look into the mechanisms of vision. It is simply something that is easy to try for yourself and see if your eyesight improves. I got a book out from the library to learn some exercises.
 
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