AMD & Low Glycemic Diet

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 and hasn’t had a recent eye exam, please call Northwest Indiana Eye & Laser Center at 219-464-8223, or visit Northwest Indiana Eye & Laser Center, Google+ or facebook.com/nwindianaeyeandlaser. 

Northwest Indiana Eye & Laser Center offices are located at 502 Marquette Street, Valparaiso, Indiana 46383 and 1001 South Edgewood Drive, Knox, Indiana 46354.