Evolution of Medicine Podcast · Functional Forum

Vision Health and Cognitive Function with Dr. Bryce Appelbaum

February 26, 2025·37 min·2 clips

Applebaum calls ADD, ADHD, and dyslexia incomplete diagnoses unless functional vision problems are ruled out first.

1. Evolution of Medicine Podcast centers on Vision Health and Cognitive Function with Dr. Bryce Appelbaum. 2. Host James Maskell interviews Bryce Appelbaum, who is described as a leader in functional medicine for vision and functional eyesight. 3. The episode asks how functional vision connects to learning, attention, brain function, and chronic illness. 4. Appelbaum says the Maha Ball gathered leaders in functional medicine and healthcare to rally around ending chronic illness and improving lifespan. 5. He says vision needs to be part of that conversation because screens, near work, and toxins are changing how people adapt and function. 6. Maskell describes the event as a celebration of years of work bringing these ideas into the mainstream. 7. Appelbaum says functional vision has been missing from the functional medicine world despite being central to how people function. 8. He argues that eyes are extensions of the brain and that visual health matters for brain health. 9. He says treating visual health is part of understanding the body’s systemic response to modern demands. 10. Appelbaum says Dr. Christine Burke spent five days at his facility and saw changes she did not know were possible. 11. He says Dave Asprey spent a week with the team and documented a change from 20/40 to 20/20 in five days. 12. He says those visits increased interest from people around the world wanting to fly in for intensive boot camp care. 13. Appelbaum says visual performance can be improved because the visual system behaves like a trainable function, not a fixed trait. 14. He says eye turns, lazy eyes, motion sickness, reading efficiency, and missed diagnoses are all part of the work he sees. 15. He says ADD, ADHD, and dyslexia should be treated as incomplete diagnoses until functional vision problems are ruled out first. 16. He says every visual skill, including tracking, focusing, depth perception, and eye teaming, is developed through life experience. 17. The conversation stays interview-based and practitioner-to-practitioner, with James Maskell using examples from functional medicine and practice-building. 18. Appelbaum speaks in a direct, explanatory style and repeatedly returns to concrete examples like screen time, school symptoms, and training programs. 19. People interested in kids’ learning, screen-related vision strain, or functional medicine will likely want this episode. 20. People wanting a narrow ophthalmology discussion without lifestyle or training emphasis may skip it.

As heard by us

A vision-centered take on learning problems that can stay hidden in plain sight.

The episode treats vision as a core part of classroom learning and makes the case that untreated functional vision problems can show up as poor focus, reading trouble, and learning difficulties, especially in children who may not be able to explain what they feel.

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Why you'd press play

When focus problems might start with hidden vision strain.

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