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Tall and Myopic with Acne and Possibly Elevated Cancer Risk

August 19, 2005 05:06 PM

The youth of America and of other prosperous countries tend to be taller than their parents. They also tend to suffer from myopia (nearsightedness) and acne. They watch a lot of TV and play a lot of video games. These are all related, it seems. But first a story.

The generation of Japanese children who went through school during World War II do not have the degree of myopia of the preceding or later generations. Why? It seems that two things are involved. First, their schooling was interrupted by the war. Second, their food supplies were compromised and they did not eat as much refined white rice.

It is known that close, two dimensional eye activity, like reading, TV and video games, compromises eye sight. And simple carbohydrate in the diet adversely affects the development of the eye. Even if you have a gene for myopia it takes epigentic events to express it, like diet and visual activity. So, these Japanese children did not express myopia.

Evolution seems to have made eyes for seeing in a 3 dimensional world. There is a bit of a disconnect between the eyes and the brain when a two dimensional image is viewed. The same thing seems to happen when you day dream; you aren't really seeing what your eyes are taking in because your brain is someplace else. You lose visual intelligence when this happens.

My friend Don Hoffman has a gem of a book called Visual Intelligence and I recall conversations with him about this. (I have to read the book more carefully to recall more precisely what he has to say about this.) The point is that the eye only "sees" when its intelligence is connected with the brain in some fairly real way.

Seeing a lot of two dimensional images (reading, TV, computers) and not working your eyes enough in the real world dulls vision. I limit my reading and computer work and ALWAYS get outside every day to see the three dimensional world. The mountains that surround us here in Utah are a blessing in far and near visual contrast and color. They are great for the eyes. I make sure not to wear sunglasses on these walks, at least for part of the walk and in the evening for all of the walk.

Wearing sun glasses all the time dulls the sense of contrast and image richness of the eye. It also compromises its acuity. You are not using all your visual intelligence when you see the world through shaded glasses. And, by the way, the cells that detect color and contrast don't get used enough. So, they lose their sharpness. Be sure to expose your eyes to full spectrum light every day. It is a good way to "work out" your eyes and to ward off depression too.

Diet affects the eye in many ways. It is the organ of the body with the highest vitamin C content for one. It also requires a lot of vitamin A. One of my colleagues told me she could see vitamin A deficiencies in many of her students because their pupils were dilated.

But, the real kicker is the simple carbohydrate. As Matt (I think) pointed out Loren Cordain has shown, convincingly I think, that carbs cause the eye to develop differently. It tends to elongate and throw the focal point off the retina. Myopia is the result. I know. I was raised on Wheaties for breakfast and late evening snacks. I was pretty myopic as a youth (it kept me out of the big leagues because a myopic eye can't track a curve ball).

As for the acne, Loren has another great paper (all his papers are great) on acne. He points to carbohydrate there too. There is plugging of ducts, inflammation (a common by product of carb loading), and excess sebaceous gland production. This creates a ripe environment for bacterial invasion to compound things.

What about height? Well simple carb consumption, as you know by now, elevates insulin. It also raises IGF1 (insulin like growth factor). These promote growth. Excess calories also go into growth. Glucose competes with vitamin C for entry into cells. High carb diets are lacking in vitamin A. Vitamin A is also a crucial developmental vitamin, for the eyes as well as other organs and tissues.

Put it all together and we get a generation of tall kids with weak eyes and acne. Troublesome enough. But, IGF1, being a cell growth factor, also is linked to cancer. Since cancer cells are metabolically more active than many other cells of the body, they may capture more IGF1 for their own growth relative to other cells. Thus, IGF1 may promote cancer. Anything that promotes growth may also promote cancer. GH users do seem to be more at risk for cancer. High IGF1 is sought after by many pro athletes and body builders. There are stories about body builders who contract cancer and there does seem to be a link.

Add on top of all of this the high Omega 6 levels of teen diets in their vegetable oil laden french fries, cookies and other baked goods. Simopolous, a solid scientist and the editor of an early landmark book on evolution and health, Evolutionary Aspects of Nutrition and Health (Karger1999), in her book the Omega Diet more or less says that cancer cells seem to feed on Omega 6 fatty acids.

I hope I am wrong about the cancer part for our youth. But, I don't take chances with my grandchildren in their diet and outdoor activity, to the extent a grandparent can influence that.

· Evolutionary Fitness

Comments

Posted by: Flower Online [TypeKey Profile Page] at September 12, 2006 4:27 AM

Art,

I'm a regular reader of your site and I couldn't help but think about "evolutionary fitness" while watching an episode of Oliver North's "War Stories" last Sunday night.

The story was about the run-up to the battle of Guadalcanal and how the Allies were assisted by the native men who were called "coastwatchers". They reported on Japanese movements, # of men, weapons, etc.

Anyway, my point: I was struck by the physiques on these island men, ~1943. They all had classic , muscular builds and for the most part, were not very young men. Not an ounce of fat, slim waists, no access to a gym and not the bulked-up look of gym muscles. Interesting.

Posted by: Brock [TypeKey Profile Page] at August 20, 2005 9:14 AM

Until what extent do you consider myopia (and other eye-diseases)a irreversible 'illness'? Would you say that with eye-training (going outdoors etc.)and with diet improvements, myopia could be 'cured'?

Intriguing thought that the reason myopia sééms to be a irreversible ailment, might lie in the fact that people with bad eyesight usually don't change their eating and eye-activity habits that caused their eyetrouble during their lifetime.

Posted by: Healthman [TypeKey Profile Page] at August 20, 2005 3:36 AM

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