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

rheddmobile

The_Enginerd wrote: »

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).

Speaking of diseases caused by diet, while researching my family I learned that I had a great-grandfather who died in an insane asylum in 1915 from Pellagra, which is caused by niacin deficiency. Pellagra causes a leprosy-like skin rash and nervous system degeneration resulting in dementia. It was quite common among poor rural Southerners (my ancestor was a tobacco farmer in Kentucky) during the first few decades of the 20th century due to a diet made up almost exclusively of corn meal and pork. Doctors knew enough to realize that the illness was associated with a diet heavy in corn but didn’t understand why - they speculated that it was some sort of toxin that grew in corn. According to Wikipedia there were more than 100,000 deaths in the rural south before they figured it out and niacin fortified foods were introduced.

Curiously, Native American cultures which relied on maize as a staple food had long ago developed traditional methods to ferment the grain using lime, which makes the niacin available and prevents pellagra.

Dreamwa1ker

I don't think we should characterize this as "picky eating" - it sounds like he had some sensory problems or other issues related to food. My own son has had feeding problems since he was a baby with a horrific gag reflex, a weak swallow, and awful acid reflux. He started refusing to eat entirely at 5 months old and he had to be admitted to the hospital (and now has a feeding tube). He is doing a bit better after 3 years of working on feeding with a speech therapist (SLPs do feeding therapy here), but still has a feeding tube because he doesn't eat enough by mouth yet to get all his nutrition.

I say all this to point out (because I have seen lots of comments on this article on other platforms) that just sending kids to their room without dinner or making them sit at the table until they eat it are not the solution in every case because it's not always just a kid being picky. There are kids out there who would let themselves starve - not out of stubbornness, misbehavior or other things, but because they have medical conditions that make eating difficult or traumatic - and children don't always have the words or emotional maturity or awareness to assess what is going on with themselves or properly convey it to adults. The teen in this case might not have gotten so bad if they had got him set up with therapists for speech/feeding and emotional therapy/coping techniques. It is important to spread awareness of these issues rather than demonizing as "picky eating" because otherwise parents don't know there is help out there.

rheddmobile

Dreamwa1ker wrote: »

I don't think we should characterize this as "picky eating" - it sounds like he had some sensory problems or other issues related to food. My own son has had feeding problems since he was a baby with a horrific gag reflex, a weak swallow, and awful acid reflux. He started refusing to eat entirely at 5 months old and he had to be admitted to the hospital (and now has a feeding tube). He is doing a bit better after 3 years of working on feeding with a speech therapist (SLPs do feeding therapy here), but still has a feeding tube because he doesn't eat enough by mouth yet to get all his nutrition.

I say all this to point out (because I have seen lots of comments on this article on other platforms) that just sending kids to their room without dinner or making them sit at the table until they eat it are not the solution in every case because it's not always just a kid being picky. There are kids out there who would let themselves starve - not out of stubbornness, misbehavior or other things, but because they have medical conditions that make eating difficult or traumatic - and children don't always have the words or emotional maturity or awareness to assess what is going on with themselves or properly convey it to adults. The teen in this case might not have gotten so bad if they had got him set up with therapists for speech/feeding and emotional therapy/coping techniques. It is important to spread awareness of these issues rather than demonizing as "picky eating" because otherwise parents don't know there is help out there.

I feel like if this child’s eating problem was that severe, the doctors looking at his deafness and blindness should have been aware of his eating issues. Instead, the reporting makes it sound as if his mother was surprised that his diet could have any effect on his health.

kshama2001

rheddmobile wrote: »

Dreamwa1ker wrote: »

I don't think we should characterize this as "picky eating" - it sounds like he had some sensory problems or other issues related to food. My own son has had feeding problems since he was a baby with a horrific gag reflex, a weak swallow, and awful acid reflux. He started refusing to eat entirely at 5 months old and he had to be admitted to the hospital (and now has a feeding tube). He is doing a bit better after 3 years of working on feeding with a speech therapist (SLPs do feeding therapy here), but still has a feeding tube because he doesn't eat enough by mouth yet to get all his nutrition.

I say all this to point out (because I have seen lots of comments on this article on other platforms) that just sending kids to their room without dinner or making them sit at the table until they eat it are not the solution in every case because it's not always just a kid being picky. There are kids out there who would let themselves starve - not out of stubbornness, misbehavior or other things, but because they have medical conditions that make eating difficult or traumatic - and children don't always have the words or emotional maturity or awareness to assess what is going on with themselves or properly convey it to adults. The teen in this case might not have gotten so bad if they had got him set up with therapists for speech/feeding and emotional therapy/coping techniques. It is important to spread awareness of these issues rather than demonizing as "picky eating" because otherwise parents don't know there is help out there.

I feel like if this child’s eating problem was that severe, the doctors looking at his deafness and blindness should have been aware of his eating issues. Instead, the reporting makes it sound as if his mother was surprised that his diet could have any effect on his health.

Yes, that's my takeaway as well. There was certainly plenty of time between noticing his avoidance at age 7 and beginning of adverse symptoms at age 14.

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

An English teen is now blind and deaf after only eating processed foods for a decade.

... she first noticed her son's diet change when he was seven years old. He only ate French fries, potato chips, processed ham, sausages, and white bread.

...His teachers became concerned too.

... because he didn't gain any weight they didn't initially see a problem.

...His mother was stunned when she learned of her son's disorder and how it relates to disability now.

...Dr. Denize Atan who tends to the teen said he's eating mostly the same foods from before. His nutrition, however, has improved due to supplements.