[ad_1]
According to a new study, a teenager who lived mainly on junk food became blind about his poor diet.
The 17-year-old, who lives in the UK, first went to the doctor at age 14 to complain about fatigue, wrote the Annals of Internal Medicine in the summary of the 39; study. By the time his doctors discovered that nutrition was the likely cause, his vision was irreversibly damaged.
Although he was a tough eater, the teenager was healthy in all respects and was not taking any medicine, researchers at the University of Bristol in England said. The tests showed that he had a form of anemia and low levels of vitamin B12. After injections of vitamin B12 and dietary advice, the doctor sent him home.
However, that did not stop there. A year later, the boy, then 15, had hearing loss and visual symptoms, but doctors could not find the cause, said the researchers in a statement.
Two years later, he was 17 years old and was legally blind. It was at this point that they discovered severe vitamin B12 deficiency, low levels of copper and selenium, high levels of zinc and a "noticeable decrease" in bone mineral density and vitamin D, the researchers said.
He revealed that his diet consisted mainly of pringles, fries, white bread and sometimes processed meats such as ham and sausages.
"Since the beginning of his secondary education, the patient had consumed a limited diet of chips, crisps, white bread and processed pork," the researchers said. "At the time of diagnosis of the patient's condition, he had a permanent visual impairment."
The researchers determined that the young man himself was given a case of nutritional optic neuropathy with his almost exclusive consumption of junk food.
They said such cases could increase given the global dependence on processed foods, but they also referred to veganism as a possible breeder of vitamin B12 levels, which could also lead to malnutrition.
Some 2 billion people worldwide suffer from micronutrient deficiencies, Denize Atan, co-author of the study, ophthalmologist at Bristol Medical School and Bristol Eye Hospital, told Newsweek, but health professionals have tendency to minimize or ignore diet and vision health.
"Nutritional optic neuropathy (or optic deficit neuropathy) is an optic nerve dysfunction resulting in inappropriate dietary content of certain nutrients essential for the normal functioning of nerve fibers," states the National Institutes of Health of the United States. "Most often, it results from a deficiency of folic acid and vitamin B complex associated with malnutrition or poor eating habits, a poorly applied vegetarian diet or chronic alcohol abuse. "
If treated early, nutritional optic neuropathy can be reversed. The research team recommended that food histories also be established during physical examinations, in the same way that it is common to ask questions about smoking and alcohol consumption.
"This may prevent the diagnosis of nutritional optic neuropathy from being omitted or delayed, as some associated visual losses may completely recover if nutritional deficiencies are treated early enough," the researchers said.
The study was criticized by scientists who claimed that this relationship did not conclusively prove a cause-and-effect relationship.
"Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause optic neuropathy, but it is very rare to find a dietary deficiency when animal products are eaten, for example. ham and sausages that are important sources of vitamin B12, "he told the London-based Science Media Center, according to CNN.
Even the researchers noted that it was an extreme example. But they said that at the very least, this shows that nutritional deficits can take many forms.
"This case highlights the impact of diet on visual and physical health and the fact that calorie intake and BMI are not reliable indicators of nutritional status," Atan said in a statement. statement from the researchers.
"Nutrition does not just depend on how much you eat, but what you eat, and this case illustrates that," Atan told Newsweek. "Here is a boy who consumed enough calories – he had normal height and weight and no visible sign of malnutrition – but he limited his food to chips and fries and a little pork transformed. In other words, foods high in energy and low nutritional value. The case illustrates the fact that caloric intake and BMI are not reliable indicators of nutritional status. "
[ad_2]
Source link