visual acuity

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The vision thing

In order to paint or draw, an artist pretty much needs to be able to see.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve been experiencing what I considered to be normal age-related declines in vision (I’m 46). I’ve had more and more trouble reading small text. When reading for too long, my vision locked into that distance and I became unable to focus on greater distances for several minutes. My distance vision became noticeably less acute (road signs were harder to read, for example). I couldn’t see as well in low light. I began making plans to visit an ophthalmologist—something I should have done much earlier.

About a 6 weeks ago, after doing some research, I began taking vitamin D supplements in relatively high doses (6,000 iu per day) in gelcap form (solid pills have not been shown to increase serum blood levels of vitamin D). I did this because I’d read about research on reduction of cancer and diabetes in people taking similar dosages.

Well, I still don’t have cancer or diabetes (as far as I know). Yay for me. The unexpected effect, however, is that my vision has dramatically improved. I can read smaller text without strain. My vision no longer gets blurry when I read for too long. My distance vision is more acute. My night vision has improved. I don’t have the 20/15 vision I had when I was 25, but my eyes certainly work a lot better. It appears that the reduced flexibility of the corneas that happens with age has been to some degree reversed.

I can’t be certain that vitamin D is the cause of the improvement, as I made other dietary improvements at about the same time (cutting out almost all processed foods, refined sugar, and wheat, for example). I’m also unwilling to stop taking vitamin D for a month or so to see if my vision declines. But I think the most likely explanation is the vitamin D. I’m pretty pleased.

I’m not a doctor and you should not take medical advice from me. If you were to do this, the results would probably be different from mine, but I thought I would pass this on.

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