Night blindness or poor night vision is a common problem that many people don’t realize can be resolved with simple dietary changes that work within weeks. You may even be able to throw away your glasses like I did!
My husband and I recently decided to bite the bullet and convert our old family videotapes to digital format. These tapes were sitting uselessly in a cabinet collecting dust because we no longer had a machine that could play them. This was no small (or cheap) task since over 80 hours of footage required converting!
Getting this huge project done has been so worth it. The kids really enjoy watching footage of themselves as babies, old birthday parties, family events, and other fun goings-on throughout the years. Best of all, it’s all available in seconds with a click of the remote on the big TV screen!
Glasses for Poor Night Vision
One thing that really shocked the kids while they were watching some of the oldest footage from over 15 years ago is that my husband and I both used to wear glasses. My husband used to wear them all day, every day for nearsightedness.
In my case, I wore glasses in the evening or while driving at night because of night blindness.
In fact, none of the kids has any memory of either of us ever wearing glasses. With my oldest now 21, that is a long time to have tossed the specs for good!
“Why don’t you and Daddy wear glasses anymore?” they asked.
This is a very interesting question, one that I haven’t considered in a very long time. My husband and I both developed a need for glasses shortly after graduating from college. We wore them until around 2002 when our second child was born. After that, we just didn’t seem to need them anymore and gradually stopped wearing them altogether. Strangely enough, this happened for both us right around the same time!
The interesting thing is that my husband needed glasses for mild myopia and I needed them for night blindness issues. These vision issues are completely different and occurred for seemingly unrelated reasons.
So what changed during that time in 2002 that has allowed not one, but both of us the freedom to no longer need glasses?
The ONLY thing that changed was our diet
In late 2001, we discovered traditional eating.
I was immediately struck by the total logic and sense of ancestral approaches to health after reading Nutrition and Physical Degeneration and the classic cookbook Nourishing Traditions. Within days, we abandoned our lowfat diet and embraced healthy, whole fats. These include butter, cream, egg yolks, fish eggs, and high vitamin cod liver oil just like our ancestors enjoyed.
This change had the immediate effect of resolving my hypoglycemia problems through the stabilization of blood sugar and the elimination of sugar cravings. My panic attacks naturally resolved too.
The improvement to our eyesight was more gradual, however. It took place over a span of a few months. We both noticed about the same time that we really just didn’t need those glasses anymore.
How could traditional diet have made a difference?
In my estimation, it was the Vitamin A that made the difference for me. For Richard, it was likely the Vitamin D. Both of these critical, fat soluble vitamins in their natural forms are plentifully available in traditional foods revered by healthy, ancestral cultures.
Vitamin A Resolves Night Blindness
In the book Eat Fat, Lose Fat, authors Dr. Mary Enig and Sally Fallon Morell write in Chapter 4 about Stephen, a young electrician from Buffalo, New York who was struggling with night vision problems.
When Stephen learned that night blindness can be caused by Vitamin A deficiency, he decided to skip the synthetic A supplement pills. Instead, he took a whole food supplement like cod liver oil. Within 3 months, his night blindness had vanished.
Stephen’s experience almost exactly mirrors my own. Within a few months of starting on a traditional diet which includes natural sources of Vitamin A, my night blindness disappeared. What’s even more exciting, it has never returned in the ensuing 15 years. This is the brand I used.
What’s particularly compelling about my story is that when my night blindness was at its worst, I was taking a daily supplement that contained synthetic Vitamin A and beta carotene. Obviously, these Vitamin A sources were doing nothing to help my night blindness issues!
Only when I added natural Vitamin A from traditional foods did the night blindness disappear. This is a very important distinction.
Conventional medicine recognizes the benefits of Vitamin A in resolving night blindness. However, beta carotene and synthetic Vitamin A are considered as good as true Vitamin A. Clearly, this is not the case at least for some people like me.
Low Vitamin D and Mild Myopia
In my husband’s case, his mild myopia resolved at about the same time as my night blindness. In his case, though, it is likely that natural Vitamin D did the trick. Cod liver oil contains not only natural Vitamin A, but also natural Vitamin D!
Note that like me, he was obtaining most of the Vitamin D in his diet from a synthetic vitamin pill when he was experiencing vision problems. The synthetic Vitamin D did nothing to help resolve the problem.
The Vitamin D Council reports that Vitamin D deficiency appears to be related to the severity of nearsightedness.
2,038 people aged 13 to 18 years old participated in this large study. The researchers examined the participants’ vitamin D levels, evaluated each person for myopia, and noted the severity of the condition.
The researchers found that vitamin D levels were significantly related to the severity of myopia. This means that lower vitamin D levels were related to more severe myopia among the study participants.
Traditional Diet to Improve Night Vision
Did the addition of traditional foods to my diet and my husband’s diet resolve our vision issues?
While our story is only anecdotal and in no way scientific, the evidence sure does point in that direction!
Do you suffer from night blindness or mild nearsightedness that is causing you grief or the need for prescription lenses? If so, it’s certainly worth a shot to incorporate traditional fats like cod liver oil into your diet for a few months to see if it helps.
I can tell you that after more than a decade of not needing glasses for my night vision issues, I am certainly glad I made this dietary change!
Only Natural Vitamins A/D Help the Eyes!
I recommend these vetted brands of quality cod liver oil that are tested and guaranteed to contain only natural Vitamin A and D. If you wish to try some and see how well it works for yourself, use coupon code HealthyHome10 to get a discount!
I don’t recommend buying this particular supplement at the healthfood store. The reason is that the vast majority of commercial cod liver oil brands contain synthetic Vitamin A and D, which will not help your night blindness!
References
Eat Fat, Lose Fat
Vitamin D Council, New Study Finds Vitamin D Levels Related to Myopia
Vitamin A Saga
More Information
Cod Liver Oil Reduces Dependence on Painkillers for Rheumatoid Arthritis
Lindsay
Which FCLO is the easiest to take cinnamon, orange or mint? Thank you for this info!
Sarah TheHealthyHomeEconomist
Cinnamon is most people’s favorite. That said, some people much prefer the mint or orange. It’s very much personal preference and taste buds driven.
Elicia
I’m curious what your thoughts are regarding this article, given your perspective and experience?
ppnf.org/cod-liver-oil-a-historical-perspective/
I’ve been reading varied opinions from WAPF, Chris Kresser, Mercola, etc.
Do you feel that bioindividuality is important when choosing a brand/formula of cod liver oil?
As a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, we use the LNT technique to assess a client’s response to a food or supplement. Are there any other ways you know of that might help a person find the appropriate form?
Julie
My husband and I are in our early 40’s and are starting to get hyperopia (farsightedness–cannot see things up close). We’ve already been eating raw milk, our own grass fed chicken and eggs, etc…I am guessing it’s the vitamin deficiencies.
Sarah TheHealthyHomeEconomist
hyperopia is due to the muscles in the eye that control the lens becoming less flexible too from what I understand. Eye exercises do help, but they are a nuisance to remember to do every single day.
Vicki K
I tried regular cod liver oil, and having systemic candida from six week pneumonia in hosp with DEXTROSE and no anti-fungals, about 20 years ago, it just blew up intensely with the CLO. It was not fermented, I think it was Carlson’s I ordered from the Internet.
How can I get the Natural A & D if I can’t take the FCLO? I am taking Nystatin now but I still have it, it is so entrenched. I use the cream between my toes, under my toenails, and vulva; take the Nystatin 500,000 IUs, 3 per day. Is that enough to do any good? I feel like it’s done SOME good, I can eat a cookie w/o getting a yeast infection now. Any words of advice for me?
Sarah TheHealthyHomeEconomist
Liver has lots of Vitamin A and fish eggs have a lot of Vitamin D.
Wenona
Coconut oil is a natural antifungal with other health benefits. You may want to try consuming it, straight or in foods. You can also apply it topically, it helped my toenail fungus go away as well as has given relief for vaginal yeast infections.
I ordered/bought a vitamin D3/K2 oil from Thorne Research, you may want to check that out.
Jentri Van Wyngarden
Wondering what your thoughts are on this interview: http://www.healingtheeye.com/KFNX/Shows2013/Peskin_010613.mp3?inf_contact_key=72723c4a6371702b46d7dbaf4116884ac3bd8b013725a388b506917192b5efa1. I started looking into Green Pastures; I do agree they are pure and probably the best choice of fish based oil. However I am wondering if fish oil is the best way to go based on the research of Prof. Brian Peskin who the person being interviewed by Dr. Kondrodt.
Sarah TheHealthyHomeEconomist
Plain fish oil does not have any true Vitamin A and D in it and so would not be at all beneficial for night blindness and myopia caused by a deficiency in the fat soluble vitamins. Also, every single fish oil I’ve looked at is industrially processed at high heat and is actually not a good choice for health for this very reason.
Debbie
Hi Sarah, Isn’t this amazing. My sight has improved somewhat from including healthy fats as well. One thing that has not improved though is the floaters in my eyes. Have you or any readers any thoughts or information on this vision quirk? Thanks for all you do. I always appreciate what you pass on to your readers.
Wenona
Someone claimed that taking iodine helped clear their eye floaters. Maybe try researching that 🙂
Wenona
he says vitamin A will help eye floaters
youtube.com/watch?v=HYXajiVSOEA
Craig G
Yikes, you don’t even mention that Vitamin D2 is worthless? Use only D3, and use liquid form for all supplements. Also, plants have vitamins and minerals too…hellooooo
Sarah TheHealthyHomeEconomist
Synthetic D2 is a problem as it is obtained by irradiation but natural D2 as found in fermented cod liver oil is fine! And, sorry, no plant foods contain true vitamin A or enough vitamin D to have any significance to the diet whatsoever.
Anna Li-Fatou
I have needed glasses since age 13, but since eating WAPF I have went from -4.00 to -3.00 in 2 years. It’s been slow but I’ve been nearsighted for so long. I’m thinking about increasing my intake of cod liver oil!
Diana
I too have stopped wearing glasses since discovering WAPF/Nourishing Traditions. I was short-sighted and can now get a pilots license as I have 20/20 vision. Happy with that! 🙂
Melina
Hi Sarah,
Great post as usual. I was wondering if you are able to find really high quality raw dairy in Florida okay. I usually like to find organic 100% grass fed organic raw milk ideally from A2 cows or even goats if possible. I heard Miller’s organic farm ships to Florida and know Jordan Rubin who is a big advocate of raw dairy lives sometimes in florida. I also heard that an eye doctor Dr. Edward Kondrot started a raw dairy at his clinic too. This makes me think that their must be some good options in your area in case we were ever to move to that area. Would you mind sharing any details you have on this like where you get your raw dairy or if you have found that there are several good options in your area since I am very picky about where my raw dairy comes from.