Does a diet high in ultra-processed foods cause deafness/blindness?

estherdragonbat

...Or is it more that the victim in question appears to have eaten no fruits or veg whatsoever in years?

https://www.vibe.com/2019/09/bristol-teen-blind-deaf-processed-foods

He only ate French fries, potato chips, processed ham, sausages, and white bread.

savannahs21

It was the fact that there was no nutritional benefits in the food he was eating.

lynn_glenmont

It is more that this teenager ate no fruits, no vegetables other than fried potatoes, no dairy, no eggs, no meat other than processed ham or sausages, possibly no good sources of EFAs (can't be sure as we don't know what the potatoes were fried in), no fish, no nuts or seeds, no legumes, etc., etc., for seven years while his body was trying to transition from pre-pubescence to adolescence. His blindness and other problems were caused by long-term nutritional deficiencies, not by magically evil chemicals in processed foods.

MikePTY

This story both shows the risks of extreme nutritional deficiency but also the limits to nutritional obsession to a certain extent.

The subject didn't just eat ultra processed foods. He ate only a handful of foods that were extremely nutrionally devoid. He would've gotten significantly more nutrition on a diet of hot pockets and lean cuisine. So it's not just that they are "ultra-processed", but rather exceptionally nutrient devoid.

And even with as completely devoid of nutrients as his diet was, it took many years of sustained eating this way in order to trigger the health effects. For a while, his health was considered largely normal. It just goes to show that while nutrients are obviously important, it's not as if you go a day without fruit that you'll come down with scurvy. This story both helped highlight the risks but also put them in some perspective for me.

estherdragonbat

I figured. When I saw the story, I started checking for other places reporting it and most of them are putting the blame on what he WAS eating, rather than what he wasn't.

rheddmobile

My guess is vitamin a deficiency from lack of fruits or vegetables caused the blindness. He’s lucky he didn’t go insane and get scabs all over from Pellagra or lose his teeth from scurvy. Considering his diet he came off pretty well! As @MikePTY said, most ultra processed foods have more nutrition than the extremely limited diet he was eating. More a cautionary tale about picky eaters and the parents who indulge them than modern diets.

AlabasterVerve

Some details.

AlabasterVerve wrote: »

Blindness Caused by a Junk Food Diet - fussy eating 14 yr old, B12 deficient

By age 17, the patient's vision had become progressively worse, to the point of blindness. The physicians investigated the patient's nutrition and found vitamin B12 deficiency, low copper and selenium levels, a high zinc level, and markedly reduced vitamin D level and bone mineral density. The patient confessed that since elementary school, he had avoided foods with certain textures and only ate French fries, Pringles, white bread, processed ham slices, and sausage.

Media | Article | Via

The_Enginerd

I have seen other stories on equally picky eaters who did not suffer the same extreme consequences, which makes me wonder just how much causation exists between his nutritional deficiencies due to his very restricted diet and his deafness and blindness.

SuzySunshine99

The_Enginerd wrote: »

I have seen other stories on equally picky eaters who did not suffer the same extreme consequences, which makes me wonder just how much causation exists between his nutritional deficiencies due to his very restricted diet and his deafness and blindness.

And even if his diet WAS the cause, I think there are enough very picky eaters out there to conclude that this is an extremely rare reaction to a lack of nutrients.

puffbrat

SuzySunshine99 wrote: »

The_Enginerd wrote: »

I have seen other stories on equally picky eaters who did not suffer the same extreme consequences, which makes me wonder just how much causation exists between his nutritional deficiencies due to his very restricted diet and his deafness and blindness.

And even if his diet WAS the cause, I think there are enough very picky eaters out there to conclude that this is an extremely rare reaction to a lack of nutrients.

Or a really extreme case of lack of nutrients even for a picky eater. One article I read yesterday said that he had an underlying condition that basically makes him an extremely picky eater who rejects most flavors and textures leading to his very sad and bland diet.

pinuplove

puffbrat wrote: »

SuzySunshine99 wrote: »

The_Enginerd wrote: »

I have seen other stories on equally picky eaters who did not suffer the same extreme consequences, which makes me wonder just how much causation exists between his nutritional deficiencies due to his very restricted diet and his deafness and blindness.

And even if his diet WAS the cause, I think there are enough very picky eaters out there to conclude that this is an extremely rare reaction to a lack of nutrients.

Or a really extreme case of lack of nutrients even for a picky eater. One article I read yesterday said that he had an underlying condition that basically makes him an extremely picky eater who rejects most flavors and textures leading to his very sad and bland diet.

This is a case where vitamin and mineral supplementation should have been implemented by his parents/doctor. A Flinstones gummy might have prevented it. (Emphasis on "might have" since we really have no way of knowing based on the information at hand.)

kimny72

I don't mean to sound judgey, but if this story is legit, it's unfortunate that his mother assumed that as long as he wasn't gaining weight, whatever he was eating was fine. I don't have any "underlying conditions" and if I had been left to my own devices when I was a kid, I would've eaten a nutritionally awful diet and not gained weight.

And I have so many questions. Did he not eat any of his meals at home in front of her since he was 9? What specific deficiency led to the optic condition, and which "caused" deafness? Did he not see a pediatrician for that 10 years? Was his growth rate reasonable, it just eventually affected his ears and eyes?

rheddmobile

kimny72 wrote: »

I don't mean to sound judgey, but if this story is legit, it's unfortunate that his mother assumed that as long as he wasn't gaining weight, whatever he was eating was fine. I don't have any "underlying conditions" and if I had been left to my own devices when I was a kid, I would've eaten a nutritionally awful diet and not gained weight.

And I have so many questions. Did he not eat any of his meals at home in front of her since he was 9? What specific deficiency led to the optic condition, and which "caused" deafness? Did he not see a pediatrician for that 10 years? Was his growth rate reasonable, it just eventually affected his ears and eyes?

He actually saw a bunch of doctors who looked at the eye condition in particular and found nothing. I know vitamin A deficiencies can cause similar issues in animals, so I’m assuming that, but there’s no other information given.

Eating NOTHING but white bread and sausage absolutely will cause serious issues over time. Other “picky eaters” I’ve seen featured in articles had concerned parents who tried to get them to eat nutritious foods, and presumably offered supplements, while this young man’s mother was aware of his diet but unconcerned as long as he wasn’t fat.

NovusDies

I was just sitting here trying to think of how easy it might have been to make bread and sausage at home that was laced with more nutrition.

I also wonder how in the world it could have escalated to that point without someone raising the alarm enough for it to be avoided.

deannalfisher

i remember watching a TV show and there was a picky eater child as a character who developed survy because of lack of vitamin c - so its not unheard of but how the mom let it get that far...

AlabasterVerve

Follow up article on this on Science Based Medicine. B-12 deficiency is what caused the blindness but they take exception to the "fussy-eating" and "blinded by junk food" descriptions. Goes into explaining Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder.

A thorough work-up involving laboratory and genetic testing, neuroimaging, and intestinal biopsies was completed, and the cause was narrowed down to multiple severe nutritional deficiencies. In particular, vitamin B12 deficiency was again found and believed to be the primary cause of the patient’s visual loss.
...
How did this kid slip the cracks so egregiously? Why was he not admitted to a hospital for inpatient management when he presented with blatant ARFID and associated hearing and vision loss two years prior to the involvement of the case report authors?

I think the author goes off the rails when he theorizes demonizing junk food causes eating disorders, spouts orthorexia nonsense and takes exception to articles pointing out the risks inherent with vegan diets and B-12 deficiency but agree wholeheartedly that this kid should not have fell through the cracks.

Article

NovusDies

I wonder if he had been admitted for treatment 2 years earlier if it would have made a difference. I even wonder if the kid is out of danger now from further complications. I believe the human body is very resilient normally but when it is made to be fragile it is not an easy road back. Over 10 years his body has adapted to this nutritional deficiency the best way it could that adaptation may not simply stop because he is being treated.

Tacklewasher

Then there is this guy who has surpassed 30,000 Big Macs and has decent health markers.

https://kncifm.com/don-gorske-big-mac-diet-record/

magnusthenerd

Clearly the blindness was genetic if his mother didn't see the issue.

SuzySunshine99

magnusthenerd wrote: »

Clearly the blindness was genetic if his mother didn't see the issue.

*drops mic
*ends thread

KerrieA87

The child has/had a psychological condition. Pretty much everyone has heard of anorexia/bulimia but not many have heard of Arfid (avoidant restrictive food intake disorder), many autistic people have a behaviour like this whereby the very textures/smell/colour of food mean that they would actually starve as opposed to taking eating the food. Personally I don’t so much think it’s anyone’s fault as a way to learn from what has happened to this poor kid. His mother has most likely been asking for help to encourage him to get the right nutrients for a long time but given that the boy showed no actual signs of an apparent eating disorder the doctors have given diet advice and supplements. That’s like giving an anorexic person a diet plan and a stack of chocolate bars to get them started. It’s not going to solve the condition that started it.

ookoolady

I used to work for an ophthalmologist. Back in the 1980's he examined a Cambodian woman who had gone blind. She thought it was because she had cried so much after soldiers killed her family. When asked about her diet, she said she had eaten only white rice and tea for many years. The doctor advised her to eat vegetables and take vitamins but it was probably too late to restore her vision.

thanos5

my mom claimed many things would make me blind.

ktekc

deannalfisher wrote: »

i remember watching a TV show and there was a picky eater child as a character who developed survy because of lack of vitamin c - so its not unheard of but how the mom let it get that far...

i think it was on House the kid would only eat one kind of frozen cheeseburger or something.

yukfoo

thanos5 wrote: »

my mom claimed many things would make me blind.

My mom did too. I just did them 'til I needed glasses.

ceiswyn

thanos5 wrote: »

my mom claimed many things would make me blind.

My mother told me to eat up my crusts, it would make my hair curly.

As a result, I avoided eating crusts for five years. I really wanted straight hair so bad...

The_Enginerd

I had some additional thoughts that occurred to me later and after seeing other discussion including poor populations, which eat almost no processed food but have a limited diet do to lack of resources. It's really the lack of dietary variety and nutrient deficiencies which could lead to this (provided that is actually what caused it in this case). The Golden Rice Project exists for this very reason. I imagine the stereotypical diet of chicken and broccoli lacks many important nutrients that would cause issues in the long term if not supplemented with a more varied diet (and sadly, I've been on MFP long enough to see someone eating nothing but this and receiving guidance to eat a more varied diet).

ritzvin

deannalfisher wrote: »

i remember watching a TV show and there was a picky eater child as a character who developed survy because of lack of vitamin c - so its not unheard of but how the mom let it get that far...

not unheard of in college dorms either.

AnnPT77

I'm pretty sure that if there's a point about the food intake per se, it's primarily about nutrition, not about "ultra processed".

Most protein bars, for example, are ultra-processed foods, but not especially low in nutrients. Meal replacement shakes are usually ultra-processed foods, but they work pretty hard to make them fairly nutrient rich.

"Ultra processed" makes for a click-bait-y-er headline than "poor nutrition", though.

P.S. Not disagreeing with what others are saying about the coverage ignoring the role of psychological issues, either. There are multiple missed opportunities to enlighten in how this has been covered.

kshama2001

deannalfisher wrote: »

i remember watching a TV show and there was a picky eater child as a character who developed survy because of lack of vitamin c - so its not unheard of but how the mom let it get that far...

Sad. The British Royal Navy implemented solutions for scurvy by the late 1700s.

How old was the child?

If say 4-8 years old, only 25 mg of C is needed to prevent deficiency diseases like scurvy in a child that age.

That's half of a small orange.



Or less than a half cup of frozen orange juice

Diatonic12

It's not only children but adults who will only eat mono-meals with comorbidity conditions. Their food rules may vary but they are adamant and unwavering. It varies but they have strong food rules. Food groups can't touch on the plate, won't eat meat, fish or vegetables...they'll refuse to eat and sit there for hours.