Cataracts & Species-Appropriate Diet: 3 Case Reports
Three accounts of cataracts stabilising or developing more slowly on carnivore — including a person diagnosed with both cataracts and macular degeneration who avoided surgery, and a case where cataracts remained stable after eye trauma.
Cataract Cases on Carnivore
Case 1 — Macular + Cataracts, Surgery Avoided (see also Macular section)
Source: ZeroCarb community — youtu.be/6cBUk1vlqiY
"I was diagnosed with cataracts and onset macular degeneration and basically told you're going to be back for cataract surgery in three or four years, five at the outset."
Diagnosed with both conditions together while pre-diabetic. Attributed slowing/reversal to carnivore. Surgery timeline was not met.
Case 2 — Cataracts Found, Night Vision Improved Simultaneously
Source: ZeroCarb community — youtu.be/oqGZeHzMYzo
"My vision night vision improved. Found out I have cataracts and I'm hoping that carnivore keeps cataracts at bay. I started — it was January that I found out I had cataracts. Went to go get a new prescription."
Paradox of discovering cataracts while simultaneously noticing night vision improvement. Also required a new prescription — suggesting some lens clarity change. Using carnivore intentionally as a strategy to slow cataract progression.
Case 3 — Post-Trauma Cataract Stable Over Multiple Exams
Source: ZeroCarb community — youtu.be/I8b1WPulCfw
"He said I did have a little bit of a cataract starting in this left eye — no doubt because that's where all the trauma was, where I had the shots. But I had another exam this year and that's not changing."
Cataract in a previously injected/traumatized eye monitored across multiple exams — remained stable and non-progressing after dietary change.
Proposed Mechanism
Cataracts are strongly associated with oxidative stress and glycation of lens proteins (sorbitol accumulation from hyperglycemia). Eliminating dietary glucose reduces lens protein glycation — a direct anti-cataract mechanism that is independent of supplementation.