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Short Summary
Main recommendation: Reduce oxidation and glycation in the lens of your eye by following five lifestyle tips: stop smoking, avoid corticosteroids, eliminate added sugar, eliminate grains and starchy vegetables, eliminate vegetable oils, and avoid alcohol. Dr. Ken Berry argues these steps could theoretically cut the risk of severe cataracts by 80 to 90 percent, though he notes this is not proven by controlled research. He also suggests they may slow or partly reverse early cataracts.
Key Points
- The five tips promised in the title are: (1) stop smoking, (2) avoid corticosteroids, (3) eliminate added sugar, (4) eliminate grains and starchy vegetables, (5) eliminate vegetable oils. Avoiding alcohol is presented as an additional final tip.
- The lens has no blood vessels, nucleus, or mitochondria, so it depends on diffusion through the aqueous humor for nutrients and waste removal.
- Four mechanisms are said to lead to cataract formation: changes to lens protein shape, oxidation of lens proteins, glycation of lens proteins, and a slight genetic component.
- Diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and hypertension are linked to higher cataract rates, which Berry attributes to shared underlying root causes rather than direct causation.
- Berry argues the usual advice to block UV light lacks controlled proof and does not explain why sunlight would suddenly harm lenses after millions of years of exposure.
Details Worth Noting
- Concrete instructions: Stop smoking entirely. Ask your doctor to limit corticosteroids, including oral and inhaled forms, to the shortest treatment time possible if you need them. Never eat or drink added sugar, and keep blood sugar normal. Remove grains, bread, and starchy vegetables from your diet. Remove canola, soybean, peanut, and sunflower oils, plus margarine and vegetable shortening, and eat traditional fats instead. Avoid alcohol as much as you can.
- Smokers reportedly have up to two to three times the cataract risk of non-smokers, according to Berry citing good research.
- Berry mentions N-acetylcarnosine, a drop that researchers are studying, which seems to reduce oxidation and glycation in lens cells.
- Berry says that if you already have mild to moderate cataracts, stopping sources of oxidation and unnecessary glycation will almost assuredly slow or stop progression and might even reverse it to some extent, though no research yet confirms this.
- Berry notes the link between alcohol and cataract progression has only limited research support.
- This is health information presented as Dr. Berry's views, not professional medical advice.
Bottom Line
Berry's approach focuses on cutting oxidation and glycation through diet, smoking, medication, and alcohol choices, with the claimed benefits largely supported by mechanism and association rather than controlled trials.
