How Intermittent Fasting Affects Your Eyes and Vision

Could intermittent fasting support eye health? Watch this short video to find out.

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Timestamps:
0:00 How intermittent fasting affects your eyes
0:22 Why diabetes affects eyesight
1:52 How to improve your eyes with fasting
2:46 How intermittent fasting affected me
3:57 Why fasting can cause temporary vision problems

In this video, I want to talk about how intermittent fasting has the potential to improve your vision greatly.

Let’s start by looking at one of the biggest causes of poor vision—diabetes. When you’re a diabetic, there are four main issues that are affected: kidneys, heart, nervous system, and the eyes.

There’s actually a condition caused by diabetes called diabetic retinopathy. This is damage to the retina. There’s also a chance of developing glaucoma when you’re a diabetic.

When you have a blood sugar issue, it destroys the tiny vascular system that goes to the optic nerve. This can cause blindness.

We also have another problem called macular degeneration. This is another situation where you have poor circulation in the back of the eye.

And finally, we have the common issue of cataracts. Cataracts are very common in diabetics.

What these all break down to is insulin resistance.

So if insulin resistance is a cause of poor eyesight, then doing the opposite could help reverse the damage and help improve eyesight.

Intermittent fasting is fantastic for insulin resistance. It helps normalize your blood sugar, and it helps your body run on ketones, which also helps with blood sugar levels.

In addition, fasting helps stimulate autophagy. Autophagy is when your body starts to clean up old damaged proteins. This could be floaters in your eye or scar tissue in the eye.

One last note, if you start keto and intermittent fasting and your experience worse vision, all this means is that you are not yet adapted to keto. Give it some time.

Dr. Eric Berg DC Bio:
Dr. Berg, 56 years of age is a chiropractor who specializes in Healthy Ketosis & Intermittent Fasting. He is the author of The New Body Type Guide and other books published by KB Publishing. He has taught students nutrition as an adjunct professor at Howard University. He no longer practices, but focuses on health education through social media.

Disclaimer:
Dr. Eric Berg received his Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Palmer College of Chiropractic in 1988. His use of “doctor” or “Dr.” in relation to himself solely refers to that degree. Dr. Berg is a licensed chiropractor in Virginia, California, and Louisiana, but he no longer practices chiropractic in any state and does not see patients so he can focus on educating people as a full time activity, yet he maintains an active license. This video is for general informational purposes only. It should not be used to self-diagnose and it is not a substitute for a medical exam, cure, treatment, diagnosis, and prescription or recommendation. It does not create a doctor-patient relationship between Dr. Berg and you. You should not make any change in your health regimen or diet before first consulting a physician and obtaining a medical exam, diagnosis, and recommendation. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

Thanks for watching; I hope this video helped explain why intermittent fasting has the potential to promote healthy eyes.

[Zuli]

I started OMAD, and booom. My vision is back after Unbelievable!!!! Thank you Dr Berg for what you do. Huge respect !!!

[danieltkach]

I'm definitely one of those guys that got massive eyesight improvements by fasting. Now fasting is the norm for me. Thank you doc, you are a life saver.

[ctyst]

I’m watching this video because I suddenly was able to see very clearly with my left eye. I was just diagnosed with non-age related cataract which had been getting worse for a couple of years. I’ve been doing 48 hour fasts and this evening my vision is clear. Holy cow!

[lltqfqm]

I have done 72 hours water fast I feel much better, my energy level has gone up, my weight decreased, and my vision improved tremendously… my eyes are less blurry, more moist and the redness went away. I am a true believer in fasting.

[bennyhalftail]

I was really excited to discover that my eye floaters are almost completely gone and I'm seeing clearer after doing some intermittent fasting and keeping my sugar intake VERY low. This all happened over the span of 3 weeks. Thank you for all of the information you share!

[UberNerd]

You asked me to comment below today on my 4th day of fasting. I all of a sudden saw through my glasses. It was blurry. So I took my glasses off. And I can see so much further than I used to be able to see just 4 days ago. My vision was getting so bad that I needed to wear my glasses full-time. And now I don't have to wear my glasses at all.

[olivierhoule]

I did an eye exam last week and my right eye went from -3.25 to -2.75 and the left eye from -2.75 to -2.25.
I did the IF and keto for a year and a half now and cannot be more healthy than that ! Thanks Dr Berg

[tomorrowsjourneyrv]

Hello...
My name is Debbie, age 67 and my husband and I will have been on Keto and intermittent fasting 2 years as of May 1st. Several health benefits. I have had cataracts for years. I went to get my eyes tested and asked how my cataracts were doing and the optometrist told me I did not have any cataracts and I was shocked. So just to double check I went to another optometrist and without saying anything, he looked at my eyes and said "nice and clear, no cataracts." We have no intention on changing our lifestyle at all. Appreciate your educational videos and have shared them with many. I feel the more people we can reach, the better. Thank you, Debbie

[Chibster]

I’m 60. For the past several years, after doing intermittent fasting and low carb for several years, my prescription is getting less each year.

[franzellecarmon]

I am 4 days from 1 month of IF. I keep taking off my glasses because I see better without them. I turn 71 in Nov. and IF has been amazing. I did 24 hr. today of fasting and felt amazing along with an hr. hike. Grateful in Wyoming. Thank you for your work.

[Treehugger]

Dr. Berg! My eyesight just normalized! I've had glasses since I was 23, I'm 56. I have been practicing Fasting since October 2018. Last week I did the 72hr Sardine challenge. That raised my ketones like never before, I'm still having sardines every few days, and I daily fast 16-24 hours every day, lately 18-22 hours daily. This week my eye with astigmatism has been sore, and my eyes were getting better then worse, then usual w my glasses. Today I took my glasses off to talk to a bank teller. I realized EVERYTHING was in focus! I'm in absolute shock! Tomorrow I'm Fasting and eating the sardines! I like them all kinds of ways now, I usually add red onions, cilantro, mayonaise, hot sauce, coco aminos, or fry them. This is so amazing! I can't wait to see if my little hernia gets better!😂 Sincerely, Susan thanks for all your videos, plus Dr Fung, Dr Berry, Dr Pelz, Dr Boz, Ivor Cummins, Dr. Ekberg, and a few more❤

[Spider]

Damn - been fasting a few weeks and eyesight has definitely improved - this video confirms it

[Dizkover]

This is actually true. I've been having double vision for over a year. After my first time doing a 3 day fast... I was surprised my double vision was gone.

[ceilconstante]

Love how Dr. Berg covers EVERYTHING we need to know to improve our health and well-being in short easy to understand and follow videos. I highly recommend his videos to everyone.

[sistersunscripted]

I've been doing intermittent fasting for over a year now and no longer have night blindness. Thank you!

[odysodys]

On the cusp of my ninth decade -- keto for nine months with IF, and over the past two months occasional prolonged fasting 3 to 6 days at a time, leading to 80 to 160 mg/dL deep ketone levels. EVERYTHING has improved, including eye function. Keto and fasting are god-sent health tools. Your instruction, Dr. Berg, has been invaluable!

[twilliams]

I must admit I got off my 12 hour fasting I began 7 months ago and after Thanksgiving and Christmas started feeling pressure in my left eye and chest pain. I started fasting 12-18hrs again and the pressure and chest pain are gone. It only took a few days to feel the difference and I'm loosing weight again. I'm grateful for coming across your fasting videos and it all makes complete sense. I work in the medical field and was never taught about the benefits of fasting. I have to make fasting my way of life. Thank you so much.

[sandrabentley]

You look great for almost 55 Dr. Berg. Been following your advice for a long time. You were the one who got me started on keto and I'm here to stay, best way of eating ever. I can actually smell sugar now and it makes me nauseous. Big thank you and for being so consistent.

[DontCareifYoureFamous]

I was struggling to do my job (requires lots of computer work) because my vision was bothering me so much. My glasses were driving me crazy. I started intermittent fasting and I began noticing huge improvements. I'm getting to the point I dont need my glasses anymore. Truly amazing!

[MonaLisa-ogdx]

I had really bad floaters before I started intermittent fasting 2 years ago (started keto 3 years ago). The floaters went away completely within a couple of months. I also do 48-72 hour fasts once or twice a month. This is a lifestyle I will never give up, I'm almost 55 years old and I feel like I am in my 20's