Study: High-Carb Diet Leads To Advanced Age-Related Macular Degeneration, Possible Blindness
Dr. Allen Taylor found AMD speeds up rapidly on a high-carb diet
It's not looking good for the highly-recommended, government-approved high-carb diet. We already know from previous research that such a diet leads to acne, increased blood pressure, an inability to lose weight in people with hyperinsulinemia, lower HDL "good" cholesterol and much higher triglycerides, the development of esophageal cancer, kidney cancer, and other forms of cancer, the development of Type 2 diabetes, and negligible weight loss, among a variety of other health-related concerns.
Now we can add to that ever-growing list of ailments something else--an increase in the risk of developing advanced age-related macular degeneration, or AMD, according to this Food Navigator story.
Dr. Allen Taylor, Senior Scientist and Director in the Laboratory for Nutrition and Vision Research at the Jean Mayer USDA HNRCA at Tufts University in Boston, MA, and his fellow researchers observed nearly 4,100 nondiabetic senior citizens between the ages of 55-80 years old (average age for men was 79.3, for women was 77.9) in a nationwide study called the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) to determine the impact of their diet on AMD, a very serious eye condition that has become the #1 reason for blindness in people 50 and over.
What the researchers found was those study participants who consumed a higher-carb diet than the average for their age experience a 49 PERCENT INCREASE in the risk of developing advanced AMD. Dr. Taylor said the more carbs that were consumed, the greater the risk.
"Men and women who consumed diets with a higher glycemic index than average for their gender and age-group were at greater risk of developing advanced AMD," he said. "The severity of AMD increased with increasing dietary glycemic index."
Interestingly, the kind and amount of carbs was not even a factor in this study originally, but it quickly became one once the researchers noticed the correlation between carbohydrates consumed and the advancement of AMD.
"Although carbohydrate quality was not the main focus in the AREDS, we were fortunate that the investigators had collected the dietary carbohydrate information we needed to do our analyses," Dr. Taylor revealed.
The results of this study found that 1 in 5 cases of advanced AMD would likely have been PREVENTED entirely by consuming a lower-carb diet.
As those of us who are livin' la vida low-carb know, the higher the glycemic index in the foods you eat the greater the impact on blood sugar which spike insulin levels causing all sorts of health problems. Eating a true low-G.I. diet (and I mean a REAL one, not the one being promoted by Rick Gallop!) which will be naturally low in carbs can help avert many of these issues.
The connection has now been made between the level of carbohydrate and AMD, too.
"Our results support our hypothesis that dietary glycemic index, which has been related to the risk of diabetes, is also associated with the risk and severity of AMD," Dr. Taylor noted.
He likens the damage to the eye tissue caused by a high-carb diet to that of a diabetic. Low-carb is now being considered as a possible simple resolution to these conditions, but Dr. Taylor said there will need to be further studies to confirm this as a recommended treatment for preventing AMD.
The results of this study appear in the July 2007 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
You can e-mail Dr. Allen Taylor about his study at allen.taylor@tufts.edu.
Labels: age-related macular degeneration, Allen Taylor, AMD, AREDS, carbs, eyes, glycemic index, high-carb, low-carb, research, study, Tufts
posted by Jimmy Moore at
7/17/2007 06:15:00 PM
5 Comments:
So...donuts don't just cause ya' to get fat...they'll make ya' blind too!
I am 54 and have worn trifocals now for several years; my prescription has changed several times in the past few years. Articles like these make me so happy I got off sugar!
Another good reason to give folks who ask you to have a donut. "Sorry, didn't you know donuts make you blind?"
Jimmy, another great post.
I, personally, can attest to the truth of these findings. I had many markers before starting low carb and losing well over one hundred pounds. My triglycerides were amost six hundred, I had high cholesterol, I looked older than my age, my eyes were bad, etc.
I started low carbing when I was thirty five years old (following a total hysterectomy!)
I am happy to say that upon turning forty, my triglycerides are around ninety, my cholesterol is normal, I do not have any of the signs of the "forty year eye changes" requiring bifocals or trifocals, I seem to have eliminated age markers, etc.
My muscle tone is that of a young person, I feel like a teenager, and people never believe my age.
My physician told me that I had totally resolved any and all conditions (including pre-diabetes) by adopting a low carb lifestyle!
We are so blessed!
I think that a lot of people on a high carb diet are also eating the wrong fats. With a low carb diet we are getting plenty of good fats especially Vitamin A which is good to keep eyes healthy. "Foods containing high amounts of anti-oxidant vitamin C such as strawberries, red pepper and leafy greens alleviate or prevent AMD". On a low carb diet most eat plenty of these.
Dear Jimmy - some comment's seem in order here -
My real interest here is acne - which was part of the article -
Acne is totally caused by diet - my view -
Acne is not caused by diet - commonly held nutritionists view -
Their are so many incorrect conclusions in the article linked to the word acne - and all unnecessary
Acne is not caused by carbs - period -
Acne is caused by yeast from bread - and the flesh of beef or chicken -
These three foods affect people differently - and only affect some people by causing acne
The study done that relates to this post decided that a low carb diet reduced acne in the subjects about 50 percent -
A 50 percent reduction is not good to begin with - what is desired is 100 percent clear skin
And the low carb diet did not produce this -
So something is clearly missing here -
To begin with - the 50 percent reduction was caused by - the reduction in bread eaten - period
and had nothing to do with low carb or high carb - just the bread
Severe facial and back acne is definitely related to the consummation of chicken and beef -
and is exacerbated by excess 'cooked carbs' and vegetable oil extracts -
excess cooked carbs can and will increase an acne problem -
but only because yeasts feed so well off them -
and in some people these yeasts feed on decaying beef and chicken -
As severe acne only affects some people - not all people - it's true causes are not seen - because it is camoflouged so to speak by some people being unaffected by the very thing causing the acne in some people -
By excess cooked carbs - I mean a large amount of them -
But the culprits in acne - are yeast - beef or chicken
The yeast in bread - the man raised yeast and brewers yeast in drinks are the bad yeasts - period
If bread was or is allowed to rise on it's own and make it's own natural yeasts - this is probably okay -
But the man raised yeasts added to bread are terrible in effect and function -
Acne Cure -
The cure for acne is simple enough - depending on what food the subject is sensitive too - simply stop eating it or greatly reduce it -
The elimination of bread yeast or beef or chicken flesh will not completely get rid of the acne -
Acne is caused both by too much of some things and - not enough of others -
And the other part is very important -
The lectins from raw and dry beans/lentils - wheat/barely - brown rice/millet are what is needed to fully get rid of acne and other growths for that matter -
The yeasts in vinegar - mushrooms - and yeast like plants (cauliflower-broccoli) are totally and completely harmless - and greatly needed
Only man raised bread yeast and man raised brewers yeast are problematic -
Since only a few people are severely sensitive to one of the three foods (yeast - beef or chicken) - the link between them and acne is missed -
and blamed on idiotic conclusions - or total nonsense - (carbs or insulin response)
The addition of man raised yeasts to bread and drinks has caused a great deal of trouble for mankind -
If fruit juices or grape juices or other were allowed to ferment on their own without added yeasts and sugars - the world would be free of alcoholic's - and all that be produced is something like hard apple cider - an only slightly containing alcohol -
It's amazing how much harm an alcoholic can produce in his or her life - and this is caused by yeast - and sugar
Carbs -
Raw -
Cooked -
Extracted sugars -
This is how carbs should be defined and properly understood -
Raw - cooked or extracted -
Raw carbs never made anyone fat and never caused any disease - acne or otherwise
No one and I mean no one ever got fat eating raw lettuce - potatoes - tomatoes or any other raw vegetable and dammed few eating excess raw nuts or fruits -
People get fat binging on sugars and extracted fats and roasted peanut butter and excess dairy fats -
not low carb or high carb or low protein or high protein - simply sugar and excess fats
It's easy to get fat - eat a jar of peanut buter a day - which is how fat people get fat in the first placce - this or something similar -
So they gain a pound a day eating like this - more or less - and sometimes much more
And then these first class idiots respond with something like - 'I only eat like a bird and can't lose weight or I gain it' -
Well - it's hard to lose weight - a pound a week for women and two pounds a week for men is reality -
So you can easily gain one-two-three pounds of body fat in a day even -
But losing it take weeks - even with starvation -
Their are two beginning parameters in my own diet - which all else falls in between - aside from the correct use of herbs-water and air
1. Raw and Dry beans/lentils - wheat/barley - brown rice/millet
at least a teaspoonful of each a day -
Acne or other growths can not be completely stopped any other way -
and only the raw lectins in these foods can do it -
2. Mushrooms and small amounts of cheese - cottage cheese - butter - yogurt-raw eggs-honey-fish
are necessary daily-
and it doesn't matter whether a person is low carb or high carb
the amounts eaten of these foods can be adjusted accordingly -
But as my post relates too the profound stupidity that the subject of acne elicits -
I'll end with it -
the person with acne who eliminates man raised yeast from their diet and some people are sensitive to chicken and beef -
and includes at least one teaspoon of each of raw and dry beans/lentils - wheat/barley - brown rice/millet -
and I mean raw and dry - not soaked - just raw and dry -
in their daily diet -
will find a 100 percent cure for acne
the whole article missed the point or conclusion entirely - from the study - misleading those unfortunately afflicted with acne and other growths -
Sure - a low carb diet helps acne - but only because man made yeast bread is eliminated or greatly reduced in the diet -
And this does not cure acne - it's only fifty percent effective -
The addition of the dry and raw seeds stated and the elimination of man raised yeasts are what is needed for 100 percent cure or rate of effectiveness -
Man raised yeast's and in some people beef or chicken are the only foods that can be directly linked to acne -
Even this is simple enough to live with concerning bread -
Simply make your own naturally raised sourdough bread - which would contain enough wild yeasts to raise the bread - but not the incredible amounts of man raised yeast which are harmful -
Beef or chicken - too those who are sensitive - can be substituted with raw eggs and dairy
The studies concluding that acne relates to insulin is nonsense -
it's simply the man raised yeast in common bread and excess foods eaten that yeast thrive on
and
the lack-of certain raw lectins from certain seeds
There's definitely a link between Diet and macular degeneration. It's been known and publicized extensively. It's also been shown that omega-3 fatty acids can reduce the risk of macular degeneration. Eat more fish!
Barry Wheeler
http://www.amdsupport.ca
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