Starvation and Vision Loss?

Celebrities have to do a lot of crazy things to their physical bodies.  Hair cuts, extreme exercise routines, or gaining and losing weight are all just a part of the job for your average Hollywood A-lister.

But for Matthew McConaughey, his role in the hit movie “The Dallas Buyer’s Club,” may have helped him earn the movie an Academy Award. But, it almost cost the celebrity his vision.

McConaughey had to drop a lot of weight in order to play an HIV-positive man.  In fact, he lost 50 pounds for the part and survived on diet cokes, egg whites, and a piece of chicken each day.

Once he reached a very thin and unhealthy looking 143 pounds (a very low weight for a man of his height), the celebrity claims he started losing his vision.  Though he was in perfect condition for his character, he was personally in pretty bad shape!

Though there isn’t a lot of research publicly available on the connection between starvation and vision loss, some experts believe that McConaughey’s experience could have been due to depriving his body of several essential vitamins and minerals during this time.  Apparently, he wasn’t taking his multi-vitamins to supplement his dangerously unhealthy diet.

Studies have shown that severe malnutrition can cause vision changes including severe night blindness.  Shortages of Vitamin A (beta-carotene) can especially diminish night vision because vitamin A makes retinol, which is what our bodies need to see well in low-light situations.

Vitamin A comes from fruits and vegetables like carrots.  If you’ve ever heard anyone say that carrots are good for your vision, this is the reason why.  Many people in countries of the world that experience famine conditions –like Africa and Southeast Asia–suffer from Vitamin A deficiencies and are a risk for blindness.

McConaughey himself said that he researched the problem when it first appeared and found some anecdotal evidence that people who had been through famines also experience vision problems.

Fortunately, he reports that his vision has returned to normal once he began eating a healthy diet again and regained the weight he had lost for the role.

If you have recently lost weight and feel like your eyesight is changing or if you are experiencing vision loss for any reason, be sure to make an appointment with an optometrist at your closest America’s Best retailer.