Does a
Low Glycemic Diet Help AMD?
Researchers
at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts
University also believe that the study, published in the journal PNAS, points
to potential biomarkers of AMD. These can be used to predict when a person is
at risk for this disease, which is the leading cause of vision loss in adults
over the age of 50. Using a mouse research model, the researchers observed that
a high–glycemic diet resulted in the development of many AMD features,
including loss of function of cells at the back of the eye called retinal
pigmented epithelial atrophy (RPE) and of the cells that capture light, called
photoreceptors-both of which are precursors to Dry AMD, whereas a low–glycemic
diet did not. Importantly, switching from a high–glycemic diet to a
low–glycemic diet arrested damage to the retina. The authors of the study suggested that these experimental results may
indicate that switching from a high–glycemic diet to a low–glycemic one is
beneficial to eye health in people that are heading towards developing AMD.
If
you or a someone you know would like to learn more about diet and AMD please
call Center for Sight 508-730-2020, visit Center for Sight, Google+ or www.facebook.com/centerforsightfallriver to
schedule an appointment.
Center for Sight is
conveniently located at 1565 North Main Street, Suite 406, Fall
River, Massachusetts 02720 for patients from
Massachusetts or Rhode Island.
