Diet and Macular Degeneration

Interesting articles are appearing in the press about a Tufts University study linking diet to macular degeneration. Read through all of the linked articles to see how press reports can vary (and all of them are truthfully reporting what they see).
The summary version says (click here) that women who had a diet high in “certain carbohydrates” (french fries are mentioned) were more likely to develop macular degeneration than other women. This article says that researchers are uncertain about whether the diet causes the disease or is just the lifestyle associated with the diet that does.

The UPI report (click here) is somewhat clearer: women whose diets had a relatively high glycemic index were more likely to develop age-related macular degeneration. The point is that the high glycemic index may be a “marker” for a total lifestyle that leads to greater risk for macular degeneration.

Finally, to get the really clear picture, read the abstract of the research in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (click here). The bottom line is that the “onset of macular degeneration may be postponed or prevented by long-term ingestion of diets with low glycemic index.”

Add comment June 15th, 2006