Vision Improvement!

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Magda
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Re: Vision Improvement!

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This is great news Julie! Amazing!
I have been also limiting sunglasses as much as I can, especially in the morning. I am trying to improve my circadian rhythm, and it looks that early morning light exposure is a way to go. It is great to know that it may also help with my vision:)

As for liver consumption, here are my ticks:
- raw in the smoothie,
- raw chopped in a small cubes and frozen
- my favorite cooked version is in a pate.
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Tincup
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Re: Vision Improvement!

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Julie G wrote:First, based on Tincup's recommendations, I've been purposefully exposing my eyes to light outdoors rarely wearing sunglasses. (He has a dramatic vision improvement story using this strategy that I hope he'll share.)
In October 2016, my integrative eye doc told me to ditch the sunglasses, she didn't think the studies were good (I realize this is totally against standard of care, so do your own research before you follow my lead). She tested my uncorrected vision at 20:200 (feet here in the US), I followed her advice and started trying to get outside a) in the hour after sunrise gazing in the direction (not at) the sun for a few minutes (and wearing only shorts and barefoot, even in the snow) without glasses, contacts or anything (most will block uv) and b) walking outside around noon (I live just below 40 deg N latitude at 5,600') for 40 minutes to an hour, again with naked eyes (and typically only shorts & barefoot, even in the snow). I take my goggles off when on the lift, skiing on sunny days at 12,000'. In February 2018, she tested my uncorrected vision at 20:80. I'm nearly 63. She said my eyes look great, no signs of cataract or AMD and that all the vessels and eye structures look excellent. She also told me I'm the only patient that follows her advice. I'm like a kid with a new toy as while 20:80 is far from perfect, I can function without needing correction in many circumstances (also on a home printed eye chart, my vision is nearly 20:60 now, several months later). I can even read my phone without glasses outside if I shade it (not well and I would not do this all the time). I also wear clipon filters (they block <510 nm) on corrected lens (or just glasses that have these filters for lenses with no correction) inside when exposed to LED, fluorescent, screens, TV's & etc. I wear these anytime I'm around these frequencies inside, not just at night.

At least in daylight, I've wondered if some of the improvement may be due to the fact that the pupil will close much more tightly when the UV is not blocked, thereby creating a pinhole effect.

I've wondered if there is a diet (industrial seed oils? high insulin?) component to the negative effects of UV radiation. I'm caucasian and used to burn readily. Subsequent to keeping my vitamin D3 (25OHD0 level > 100 ng/mL, I no longer burn. I can ski naked from the waist up for as much as 5 hours at 12,000' on a sunny day without burning (I did adapt first). Likewise, I've cold adapted so I can do this at 37 deg F (3 deg C) with a wind of 30-40 mph (48-64 kph) and only experience a very light shiver. The sun and cold can have very negative consequences, so don't play with this without doing a lot of research and understanding how to adapt yourself first and what the potential downsides are.
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Re: Vision Improvement!

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Deep bow to you, Tincup. Please ask your eye doctor to write up your experience as a case study for publication. It's a very dramatic example. My eye doctor, for one, wants to read it, but will only pay attention to peer-reviewed evidence. Frustrating. I've not been exposing my uncorrected eyes to daylight, but will consider adding that strategy as well. Perhaps I can handle my morning walk/run without contacts. Thank you for all of the detail you provided. Improving vision might very well be a sign that you're "reversing" the aging process :idea:.

Magda, deep bow to you as well. You eat raw liver? Bleh!!! I'm using the grass-fed Liverwurst from US Wellness Meats. I'm sadly not a fan and typically hide it with dijon mustard and sauerkraut. Several days ago, I wrapped it in romaine. That also helped. I only eat a small slice 2-3 times a week so it's not awful.

Circ, I'm using food as opposed to a supplement because I can. I suspect (no proof) it's always best to get vitamins from their natural source. Cod liver oil is supposed to be another decent source, kind of a combo between food & supplements. Is anybody using that for Vitamin A? Thank you all for your kind words and encouragement. It's thrilling to learn that vision can improve with age. I'm hoping this wasn't a fluke for me...
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Re: Vision Improvement!

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Julie G wrote:Cod liver oil is supposed to be another decent source, kind of a combo between food & supplements. Is anybody using that for Vitamin A?
I am - 4 daily of the Now Foods product for 10,000 IU.
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Re: Vision Improvement!

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Tincup wrote:I followed her advice and started trying to get outside a) in the hour after sunrise gazing in the direction (not at) the sun for a few minutes (and wearing only shorts and barefoot, even in the snow) without glasses, contacts or anything (most will block uv) and b) walking outside around noon (I live just below 40 deg N latitude at 5,600') for 40 minutes to an hour, again with naked eyes
Do you know if the prescription for "naked eyes" is solely to ensure that no UV blocking is in place? Or is there another purpose?

I ask because my contacts - Bausch & Lomb PureVision in the left and PureVision 2 in the right - don't block UV. I wear them continuously for 30 days, have had a stable prescription since I started using them 10 years ago, and am reluctant to handle them multiple times daily.

Incidentally, I'm also a sunglasses skeptic. I wear them on snow fields at higher elevations to avoid snow blindness and occasionally in squinty low-angle situations, but mostly I don't use them. Not wearing sunglasses was a convenience when I was younger, but now I see full spectrum natural light exposure as a positive. My checkup last fall showed no evidence of cataracts or other disease. I'm 55, and from a brief web search it appears as though age-related cataracts appear as early as age 40 and affect vision as early as 60.
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Re: Vision Improvement!

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MarcR wrote:
Tincup wrote:I followed her advice and started trying to get outside a) in the hour after sunrise gazing in the direction (not at) the sun for a few minutes (and wearing only shorts and barefoot, even in the snow) without glasses, contacts or anything (most will block uv) and b) walking outside around noon (I live just below 40 deg N latitude at 5,600') for 40 minutes to an hour, again with naked eyes
Do you know if the prescription for "naked eyes" is solely to ensure that no UV blocking is in place? Or is there another purpose?

I ask because my contacts - Bausch & Lomb PureVision in the left and PureVision 2 in the right - don't block UV. I wear them continuously for 30 days, have had a stable prescription since I started using them 10 years ago, and am reluctant to handle them multiple times daily.
The point is that most contacts & glasses block UV, so the idea is not to block the UV. I've never worn them, so have no experience. One doctor I've listened to, suggested that lens replacements for cataract surgery could be gotten from Germany that don't block UV. The implication is that most ones used in the US do block UV. He mentioned that an ophthalmologist from the 1920's noted that patients with metabolic illness improved when cataracts were removed as the clouded lens could block UV. Current ophthalmologists told him than their experience was reversed. When lenses were implanted, vision improved however metabolic illness got worse.

I've been surprised that I could ski without goggles for an entire day without issue. I did decide that was maybe pushing it and haven't rechecked with my doc as to what makes sense. So now will wear goggles while skiing down (which also protects my eyes from branches in tree skiing) and remove them when on the lift. One day I was on the lift with random people and the guy sitting next to me was wearing mirrored goggles. He shaded his eyes with his hand while looking toward the sun because of the brightness. I looked toward the sun with naked eyes without issue. Likely because my pupils were sufficiently contracted.

An interesting book on light was written by John Ott in 1973. Ott did time lapse photography for Disney of flowers growing & blooming. He learned how different light frequencies (not just visible) could impact growing plants and animals. This is a short clip he did. and the full movie.
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Re: Vision Improvement!

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Julie G wrote: Thu May 10, 2018 3:14 pm Woo hoo! After years of steadily worsening myopic vision, my vision has IMPROVED. My contact prescription used to be 3.5 & 3.25; now 3.0 and 2.75. I've been applying two strategies that I've learned about from our amazing tribe.

First, based on Tincup's recommendations, I've been purposefully exposing my eyes to light outdoors rarely wearing sunglasses. (He has a dramatic vision improvement story using this strategy that I hope he'll share.) Second, based upon several SNPs that indicate I poorly convert beta-carotene to vitamin A, I've been forcing myself to eat small amounts of grass-fed liver 3 times a week as a bioavailable source of Vitamin A. Given our relatively poor transport of lipids, I suspect it's especially important for our genotype to focus on optimizing fat soluble vitamins- D,A & K. Something seems to be helping. Happy dance! I'm actually looking forward to seeing the eye doctor next year.
Tincup wrote: Fri May 11, 2018 7:45 pm
Julie G wrote:First, based on Tincup's recommendations, I've been purposefully exposing my eyes to light outdoors rarely wearing sunglasses. (He has a dramatic vision improvement story using this strategy that I hope he'll share.)
In October 2016, my integrative eye doc told me to ditch the sunglasses, she didn't think the studies were good (I realize this is totally against standard of care, so do your own research before you follow my lead). She tested my uncorrected vision at 20:200 (feet here in the US), I followed her advice and started trying to get outside a) in the hour after sunrise gazing in the direction (not at) the sun for a few minutes (and wearing only shorts and barefoot, even in the snow) without glasses, contacts or anything (most will block uv) and b) walking outside around noon (I live just below 40 deg N latitude at 5,600') for 40 minutes to an hour, again with naked eyes (and typically only shorts & barefoot, even in the snow). I take my goggles off when on the lift, skiing on sunny days at 12,000'. In February 2018, she tested my uncorrected vision at 20:80. I'm nearly 63. She said my eyes look great, no signs of cataract or AMD and that all the vessels and eye structures look excellent. She also told me I'm the only patient that follows her advice. I'm like a kid with a new toy as while 20:80 is far from perfect, I can function without needing correction in many circumstances (also on a home printed eye chart, my vision is nearly 20:60 now, several months later). I can even read my phone without glasses outside if I shade it (not well and I would not do this all the time). I also wear clipon filters (they block <510 nm) on corrected lens (or just glasses that have these filters for lenses with no correction) inside when exposed to LED, fluorescent, screens, TV's & etc. I wear these anytime I'm around these frequencies inside, not just at night.

At least in daylight, I've wondered if some of the improvement may be due to the fact that the pupil will close much more tightly when the UV is not blocked, thereby creating a pinhole effect.

I've wondered if there is a diet (industrial seed oils? high insulin?) component to the negative effects of UV radiation. I'm caucasian and used to burn readily. Subsequent to keeping my vitamin D3 (25OHD0 level > 100 ng/mL, I no longer burn. I can ski naked from the waist up for as much as 5 hours at 12,000' on a sunny day without burning (I did adapt first). Likewise, I've cold adapted so I can do this at 37 deg F (3 deg C) with a wind of 30-40 mph (48-64 kph) and only experience a very light shiver. The sun and cold can have very negative consequences, so don't play with this without doing a lot of research and understanding how to adapt yourself first and what the potential downsides are.
Just coming across this thread several years later & I’m curious what’s happening with your eyes lately Julie_G & Tincup? This is fascinating!

I’ve wondered how vision could change so dramatically between generations (my parents & grandparents never needed glasses until they became somewhat far-sighted when were much older, while all of us kids needed them quite early) — it seems like environmental factors must be involved.
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Re: Vision Improvement!

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CAngelS wrote: Sat Jan 22, 2022 9:22 am
I’ve wondered how vision could change so dramatically between generations (my parents & grandparents never needed glasses until they became somewhat far-sighted when were much older, while all of us kids needed them quite early) — it seems like environmental factors must be involved.
There was work from China - an interventional trial with school children, showing that in schools where children were required to spend more time outdoors (even just spending time reading in the shade was OK) the percentage of the children who ended up needing vision correction was reduced. I read about this a while back, not sure how easy it would be to find a source.
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Re: Vision Improvement!

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CAngelS wrote: Sat Jan 22, 2022 9:22 am Just coming across this thread several years later & I’m curious what’s happening with your eyes lately Julie_G & Tincup? This is fascinating!

I’ve wondered how vision could change so dramatically between generations (my parents & grandparents never needed glasses until they became somewhat far-sighted when were much older, while all of us kids needed them quite early) — it seems like environmental factors must be involved.
My eyes maintained in my most recent eye exam, a year or so ago. As I've been more inside due to COVID, I feel they may have regressed a bit. Being outside with no glasses is key for me. I've been doing my walks at sunrise, so not a lot of bright light. I plan to make an effort to get out more at midday. Ideally, I spend 6 or more hours outside skiing or rock climbing, with no glasses.

"I’ve wondered how vision could change so dramatically between generations"

I've seen or heard that the more time you spend outside, looking at the horizon, the fewer problems there are, including for children. One place I think I heard this was on a Huberman Lab podcast. Andrew Huberman is a neuroscience & vision prof at Stanford and one of my favorite science podcasters. Here is a top level search on vision on his site. His podcasts are timestamped, so you may be able to find the one where he talks about it.

My eye doc told me about a humanitarian trip to Africa she made. The accountants & office worker were all near sighted and the outside workers far sighted.
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Re: Vision Improvement!

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Quantifier wrote: Sat Jan 22, 2022 12:01 pm There was work from China - an interventional trial with school children, showing that in schools where children were required to spend more time outdoors (even just spending time reading in the shade was OK) the percentage of the children who ended up needing vision correction was reduced. I read about this a while back, not sure how easy it would be to find a source.
Thanks Quantifier! I think found the source you're referencing here:
"Among 6-year-old children in Guangzhou, China, the addition of 40 minutes of outdoor activity at school compared with usual activity resulted in a reduced incidence rate of myopia over the next 3 years." https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26372583/
Among the students spending 40 minutes of outdoor activity at school (vs. those in the control group), 23% fewer developed myopia over the next three years. Within the control group, there was a 39.5% incident rate of myopia, while students spending more time outside experienced a 30.4% incident rate.

Makes me wish my kids were still young!
"If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else?" (Matthew 5:47)
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