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 someone you know is concerned about their risk of AMD, please call The
Eye Care & Surgery Center at 908-789-8999, visit The Eye Care
& Surgery Center, Google+ or facebook.com/eyecareandsurgerycenter
to schedule an appointment.
The Eye Care & Surgery Center is located
at 592 Springfield Avenue, Westfield, New Jersey 07090, 10 Mountain Boulevard,
Warren, New Jersey 07059 and 517 Route One South, Suite 1100, Iselin, New
Jersey 08830, and is conveniently located for patients from throughout central
and northern New Jersey.
