UK Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association

Having just read a thread about an improvement in sight where a question was asked about diet and drinks - may I ask if there are any links to diet and KC? Are there foods and drinks that can help and any that should be avoided.

David already drinks HUGE amounts of water something he has done for many years. People with autism often drink a lot - however he does drink quite a bit of coke so I will mention this to him.

This is very interesting

Carole

Carole, I don't think a link has ever been proven, but a few people on here will swear by certain foodstuffs.

I think that the link to hydration is very likely valid though. I certainly find that my vision is not as good if I'm dehydrated.

The problem of course is all things in moderation. I don't know how much water is too much, but I do know that if the cornea becomes waterlogged vision becomes cloudy.

I know some here who have had grafts that report a rapid recovery also post a strict diet before and post graft.

A healthy diet will of course help us and dieticians and homeopaths do say some food stuffs are better for certain parts of the body.

As John says, no link proven and no study likely to happen due to expense. Plus you need a control group to have the junk food!

It was raised at the AGM and dietry links are probably the hardest thing to research.

There is also a lot of anecdotal evidence that KC is associated with Magnesium defficiency. go here

http://www.ctds.info/magnesium.html#Keratoconus

Foods rich in Magensium include

Peanuts, all types, roasted
Tofu, raw, regular
Peanuts, all types, raw
Broccoli, cooked
Spinach, cooked
Chard, Swiss, cooked
Soybeans, cooked
Tomato paste, canned
Simulated meat products, meat extender
Small white beans, cooked
Sweet potato, canned, mashed
Black beans, cooked
Dock (sorrel), cooked
Nuts & seeds, all types
Pumpkin seeds
Chestnuts
Chili with beans, canned
White beans, cooked
Baked beans
Navy beans, cooked
Peanut butter
Succotash, cooked
Beet greens, cooked
Lima beans, baby, cooked
Refried beans, canned
Mung beans, cooked
Artichoke, cooked
Pinto beans, cooked
Whole grain cereals, ready-to-eat
Blackeyed peas, dried, cooked
Okra, cooked
Great Northern beans
Squash, acorn, baked
Lima beans, large, cooked
Kidney beans, all types, cooked
Chickpeas, cooked
Purslane, cooked
Yogurt, low fat varieties
Broadbeans, cooked
Split peas, cooked
Lentils, cooked
Milk, fluid, all types

Carole

As mentioned in the post you refer to, being hydrated does have an impact on a number of areas within the body (including staying alive!:-))

However, one thing I would mention here is that does david drink large amounts of Diet Coke or Coke?....(both of these have a number of chemicals which MAY have a negative impact on the body)

Anti oxidants such as Selenium. Lycopene, Grape seed extract, Vit C have all been proven to aid in recovery and also to keep the body healthy via the mechanism they interact with.

Protein and key recovery aids do help in allowing the body to recover...but this is a different topic in all

However, and here comes my "suspect" cap on, there will never be any long term studies on this even with KC, as to be honest....if these products do have a postive effect, noone can actually make money out of this as these products are all free available and cannot be patented....

But there is extensive research on the likes of Lycopene, Selenium etc in there own capacity and their postive effects on the body as a whole; rather then individual conditions......

J

Another area related to diet and to KC is the supposed link between KC and Mitral Valve Prolapse. Both are associated with a magnesium deficiency, but while there is a great deal of epidemiology that suggests an increased risk for MVP in people with KC, I am not aware of any that has controlled for non-KC people with magnesium deficiencies.

There is no 'proven' link between autism and dietry interventions but 'some' parents have had astouding results while other saw no change in their child at all.

My theory is that it can't hurt to try these things and it's worth a try. David has a craving for broccoli and eats lots of peanut butter and low fat yoghurts. If you go with the autism diet theory then broccoli is craved because of it's chemical composition and because it's something that the body needs.

David has numerous allergies along with our youngest Matthew and I am already aware that some foods trigger their allergies. Because David likes many of the foods on the listed posted by Andrew (thanks) I am sure that he will give this a go. David alreday takes a multi-vit suppliment along with a cod liver oil suppliment. I will check out the Lycopene, Selenium.

thanks

Carole