Diet of junk food leads to blindness in teen

Next time your kids are complaining about not liking healthy food and whining about how the only thing they want to eat is junk food from a drive through window, share this story with them.

According to CNN, a teenager in the UK has been permanently blinded by a steady diet of crap. He first went to his family doctor when he was 14, complaining of feeling fatigued. Doc ran a bunch of tests, thought maybe he was low of B12 and vitamin D and sent the kid on his way.  At this first appointment, the teenager described himself as a "fussy eater".

At that time, he neglected to tell his health professionals that his diet consisted almost entirely of french fries, white bread and processed ham and sausage. No veggies. No vitamins. Just junk food.

A year later, symptoms worsened and the teenager started noticing hearing loss and vision problems. Doctors again ran a slew of tests, including MRI's and a host of blood scans. He had stopped taking his B12 shots and now the damage was becoming permanent. He was low on nutrients including copper, selenium and vitamin D. He also had weak bones with low mineral density.

Most of us probably have certain foods we don't really enjoy. However, this kid has been diagnosed with what doctors are now calling "avoidant-restrictive food intake disorder".  A mental health issue. The kid is now 19 and has dropped out of college because he can't see or hear anything and was struggling with studies. His mom says he has no social life and is pretty depressed.

So eat your vegetables. Jeez.