It depends on how long you have been vegan. If it is less than a few months, it must be a coincidence. If it is longer, then the only thing I can think of is that you might not be getting enough vitamin A. The human body makes vitamin A from beta carotene, which is found in some yellow and orange fruits and vegetables.
It depends on how long you have been vegan. If it is less than a few months, it must be a coincidence. If it is longer, then the only thing I can think of is that you might not be getting enough vitamin A. The human body makes vitamin A from beta carotene, which is found in some yellow and orange fruits and vegetables.
Think I get plenty of those, so probably just a combination of age and too much time in front of screen at work. Thanks Steven
Not sure how old you are but my eyesight has deteriorated since I hit 40 and most people I know of a similar age have noticed the same thing, regardless of diet.
Idleness is not doing nothing. Idleness is being free to do anything. - Floyd Dell
sounds like a coincidence but check with your optician. I have been vegan 17 years and only this year had problems with my eyes but then I am in my forties and stare at computer screens all day!
'Spring will soon pounce [like a floppy kitten]'. Whalespace.
Well I've had problems with my eyes for the last four years (been vegan 3 years), but mines purely coincidential. My eyes aren't *that* bad, but one eye is about 60% strength and focus of the other because, as the optician put it, it is "rugby-ball-shaped" and will get worse throughout my life. I don't think it's anything to do with my diet though.
I have a very slight prescription for glasses but only have to use my glasses when I am tired. Sure, it could be coincidence...but just because we all know that a vegan diet can be fantastically healthy does not mean that you (or anyone else on this forum) could not be deficient in some nutrient or other since we have little control over the nutritional value of the foods we buy (owing to soil quality, delay in getting food from 'field to table' etc.).
If my eyesight can deteriorate quite quickly when I'm feeling 'run down' then it's possible that you could too? Not because you're vegan but because you eat from the same 'food bowl' as the rest of the world.
Blueberries are supposed to be good for the eyes.
"You can discover more about a person in one hour of play than in a year of conversation" ~ Plato
Well I've had problems with my eyes for the last four years (been vegan 3 years), but mines purely coincidential. My eyes aren't *that* bad, but one eye is about 60% strength and focus of the other because, as the optician put it, it is "rugby-ball-shaped" and will get worse throughout my life. I don't think it's anything to do with my diet though.
I have the rugby ball shaped thing too! I think it is called a stigmatism? Anyway as many of you are aware I wear glasses and my eyesight is deteriorating at an astounding rate. I'm going up three points of the glasses strentgh scale each year. My dad and mum both wear glasses, but they are in their early 50's/60s and my eyes are catching up in the sense of lack of sight at rather quick pace. This was happening long before I went vegan and even vegetarian.
There is nothing I can do about it whatsoever so I have just learnt to accept that if it keeps going on at this rate I'll be semi blind by the time I'm 45. I'd rather be blind than deaf, because afterall what would life be without music?
The taste of anything in my mouth for 5 seconds does not equate to the beauty and complexity of life.
I have the rugby ball shaped thing too! I think it is called a stigmatism?
ooh nearly: it's an astigmatism.
emzy1985
There is nothing I can do about it whatsoever so I have just learnt to accept that if it keeps going on at this rate I'll be semi blind by the time I'm 45. I'd rather be blind than deaf, because afterall what would life be without music?
I used to think this, but having lived with a partially blind partner, who is so frightened about losing her sight, the thought of being blind absolutely scares me.
Since becoming vegan my eyesight seems to have detioriated, just a coincidence?
As long as you're eating a good range of fruits and vegetables there's no reason why your diet should be causing deterioration in your eyesight. If you're really worried, you could get an eye test done.
I also have a rugby ball eye.
My eyesight has been about the same since I became vegan. The longer you wait to get glasses the worse your eyesight can become. So if it's been a while since you became ve]gan, it might seem like your deteriorating sight is related but it could just be time. Does that make sense?
as many of you are aware I wear glasses and my eyesight is deteriorating at an astounding rate. I'm going up three points of the glasses strentgh scale each year.
Are you short-sighted? I am (also got astigmatism in my left eye) and my eyesight deteriorated rapidly in my teens and twenties, but now I'm 41, the deterioration has stopped. My last eye test showed minimal changes with the one two years previous, not enough to warrant new glasses. Opticians have told me that I should be ok for my forties and fifties, then become long-sighted... Maybe it will be the same for you? Hope so, loss of any sense isn't much fun.
Optic nerve functions depend on vitamin B-12 and folate (but eyesight is also dependent on a lot of other nutrients). Vegan food normally contain less B12 than standard food, and standard food normally contain less folate than vegan food. IMO your reduced eyesight could have a number of reasons, which include low B12 levels (and to our non-vegan visitors: it doesn't help to stop eating vegan, because non-vegans often have deficiencies that are less common among vegans)...
As you can see in these randomly selected links, almost all the nutrients mentioned that are known to be beneficial for eyesight are nutrients that animal products are known to have low or no amounts of whatsover (like antioxidants/vitamin C...)
And finally, a little info about lutein, one of the antioxidants often mentioned when eyesight is discussed:
-a powerful antioxidant and one of two carotenoids found in the eye. These yellow pigments are believed to filter out harmful blue light and protect against age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in people over 65
-more resistant to cooking than other carotenoids, it's also associated with decreased lung cancer risk.
I've read that eyesight (and toothache!) apparently are the two 'diseases' that are most common / most people have experienced, but still, even if hundreds of millions start using glasses at some point, some people will think that if a vegan buys a pair of glasses, it's because of his diet. This will of course change when more people are vegan, but until then we have to live with the fact that due to the low numbers of vegans and vegetarians, many people (including veg*ns) may fear that if something is 'wrong' with them, it's because they don't eat meat or drink cow's milk! I'm pretty sure that if we would use a hidden camera and visit one hundred non-vegan doctors (doctors using glasses) and tell them that we are vegans and may need glasses, lots of them would start to think of the vegan diet as the reason, but if they would have 100 non-vegan clients that said that they needed glasses, they wouldn't think of all the nutrients (that are known to be good for eyesight) that non-vegans often have too low levels of.
Are you short-sighted? I am (also got astigmatism in my left eye) and my eyesight deteriorated rapidly in my teens and twenties, but now I'm 41, the deterioration has stopped. My last eye test showed minimal changes with the one two years previous, not enough to warrant new glasses. Opticians have told me that I should be ok for my forties and fifties, then become long-sighted... Maybe it will be the same for you? Hope so, loss of any sense isn't much fun.
Yes I am short sighted. Hmmmm well hopefully that is the case...yay if it is!!
The taste of anything in my mouth for 5 seconds does not equate to the beauty and complexity of life.
I've been vegan nearly 25 years and my eyesight has always astounded the optometrist when I've had a test, as they say it's perfect. However, I have noticed a slight deterioration in the last few years, but like Veganlinda I work with PCs all day, and am also in my forties. The last eye test I had I passed with flying colours but I could tell there was a difference as it took me more effort to read the bottom line of the eye chart.
My dad had cataract surgery recently. Two days later he developed an infection that, within hours, rendered his eye blind.
It's been three weeks since his surgery. Now he is noticing that the other eye is not doing well. The ocular pressure has risen and he is noticing that his vision in that eye is beginning to worsen. He thinks he is going blind... I am freaking out! He is seeing his doctors regularly, he is taking all kinds of drugs and drops, and still he dealing with all this trouble...
Thanks to all, especially Korn, for providing such great sources of info on the subject of eye health. I will go get my dad some vegan supplements that contain vitamins A, C, E, B-12, zinc, selenium and lutein. Does anyone have any advice as to what else I could get him? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I had cataract surgery on both eyes a few years ago, no problems. No stay in hospital not even overnight, and all was well. I get my eyes checked regularly, the back of the eyes especially, and the opthalmologist urged me to eat plenty of leafy green vegies for eye health. I said that nobody had previously told me that, and his response was that it wasn't known before. I realise this doesn't help your dad, klytemnest, as something obviously went wrong with his cataract removals. I can't understand how drops can help - can't he return to the surgeon who did the procedure? Best wishes.
I had cataract surgery on both eyes a few years ago, no problems. No stay in hospital not even overnight, and all was well. I get my eyes checked regularly, the back of the eyes especially, and the opthalmologist urged me to eat plenty of leafy green vegies for eye health. I said that nobody had previously told me that, and his response was that it wasn't known before. I realise this doesn't help your dad, klytemnest, as something obviously went wrong with his cataract removals. I can't understand how drops can help - can't he return to the surgeon who did the procedure? Best wishes.
Thanks for your response. It helps. I will tell my dad about the green leafy veggies. Hey, every little bit helps.
The problem is that his eye got infected. It happens once in 3000 cases. My dad was the lucky one. A couple of days after the operation, he noticed that he was seeing some black lines, but didn't think much of it and decided to take a nap. When he woke up from his nap, his vision in that eye was completely gone. Scary, isn't it? They put him on antibiotics, but apparently they are not helping enough. The poor thing has been in great pain for many days now and I don't know how to help him. I bought him carrots... I'll tell him about the green leafy veggies. Thanks,
Rami, I am really sorry about your dad, it is difficult to know what to do if the doctors themselves don't know. I'll be thinking of him with strong wishes for a solution.
Eyesight
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steven1222
I'm pretty sure that if we would use a hidden camera and visit one hundred non-vegan doctors (doctors using glasses) and tell them that we are vegans and may need glasses, lots of them would start to think of the vegan diet as the reason, but if they would have 100 non-vegan clients that said that they needed glasses, they wouldn't think of all the nutrients (that are known to be good for eyesight) that non-vegans often have too low levels of.
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