Nutrition and diet can affect the risk of acquiring Age-Related Macular Degeneration, or AMD.
AMD is a relatively common medical condition usually affecting older adults and causing a loss of vision in the center of the visual field.
One study of 4,000 people aged 55-80, found that eating foods scoring low on the Glycemic Index (GI), also known as “slow carbs,” protects against AMD. A food’s GI is an indicator of how fast the carbohydrate it contains will spike blood sugar levels; lower GI scores mean a slower sugar spiking.
The study’s analysis also produced a short list of specific nutrients that – in combination with a low-GI diet – are associated with a lower risk of AMD: vitamins C and E, zinc, lutein, zeaxanthin, and the omega-3 fatty acids known as DHA and EPA.
Earlier research linked AMD to a high-fat diet. This study appeared in the May, 2010 issue of the Journal Ophthalmology. The full-text version can now be read online at: http://bit.ly/aD5tPl.