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Wednesday 19 April 2023

'Age Related Macular Degeneration could probably be prevented by avoiding processed food'

Sharing an article (and image) from Dr Katharine Morrison at Diabetes Diet Blog

"Age Related Macular Degeneration could probably be prevented by avoiding processed food


Adapted from The Displacing Foods Age Related Macular Degeneration by Chris A Knobbe. Medical Hypotheses 109 2017 184-198

Chris A Knobbe from the University of Texas has studied factors that are thought to be important in the causation of Age Related Macular Degeneration. (AMD).

AMD is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in developing nations. In 2020 some 196 million people were affected worldwide. And Dr Knobbe thinks this is almost always down to dietary factors, in particular the consumption of processed food such as sugar, vegetable oils, refined white flour and trans fats.

Historically, between 1851 and 1930, AMD was a rarity. It rose modestly in the 1930s but became an epidemic in the UK and USA by 1975.

By 2009 63% of the American diet consisted of processed sugars, starch and oils.
Dr Morrison comments: Dr Google now puts this at 73% “hyper-processed foods”.

By looking at the food intake and AMD in 25 nations, it was seen that as the traditional diets were replaced with processed foods, the incidence of new onset AMD correspondingly rose.

If sugar intake is moderate but polyunsaturated fat ingestion is rare, AMD does not rise.

It would therefore appear that processed and nutrient deficient foods are toxic to the retina.

AMD could probably be entirely preventable through reverting back to ancestral dietary patterns, should that be feasible, or eliminating processed foods that have become ubiquitous. Avoidance of these foods is likely to be extremely important for people who have been diagnosed with early or moderate AMD.

Dr. Morrison comments: She was recently at a Hospice ladies lunch group and was sitting at a table with six other women who were about 10-20 years older than herself. Five of them were currently getting eye injections for AMD. Diets that are considered the healthiest by Dr Google are the Mediterranean, Japanese, South Korean and French. None included processed foods."

Words above from here
Read more about Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) here

~ xxx ooo xxx ~

Do please share your thoughts on this article in the comments section, thank you.

All the best Jan

25 comments:

DMS said...

How interesting! I try to limit my processed foods, as I know they are not good for me- but I didn't know this information. :)
~Jess

roentare said...

Sounds interesting. Avoiding processed foods at all costs

William Kendall said...

Good information, Jan.

DUTA said...

Well, 'nothing new under the sun', as they say. Almost all major diseases could be prevented by a healthy, unprocessed nutrition.

Tom said...

...it's a serious problem.

My name is Erika. said...

It's interesting that macular degeneration is only on the rise in countries with processed food. It definitely could be foods, but could it be anything else also? Such as longer life spans or perhaps a rise in obesity? This was interesting post for certain.

Christine said...

Thanks for sharing.

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

This was a complete surprise to me, bu it totally makes sense.

J.P. Alexander said...

Siempre hay q ue cuidar la alimentaciĆ³n. Te mando un beso.

The Happy Whisk said...

I read recently that blood sugars that are too high, also contribute to this as well. It's amazing how much we can do when we eat better.

aussie aNNie said...

I have always believed processed food is not good for us, fresh for me anyday x

Margaret D said...

Good article to read Jan.
My late dad had AMD and was legally blind for many years, he became blind after retiring.

Fun60 said...

An interesting article. Another nail in the coffin for processed foods.

Elephant's Child said...

I don't think that highly processed food does us ANY favours.

eileeninmd said...

Hello,
Interesting article, I have a cousin who has AMD.
Processed foods are just not good for anyone.
Take care, enjoy your day!

Donna said...

I have a friend that has this...treatment is awful!
hugs
Donna

Martha said...

Eating well keeps us healthy!

Practical Parsimony said...

I have a macular wrinkle that is not considered to be macular degeneration. Nevertheless, it is pulling the retina or something. And,threatens my vision. I wonder if the cause is the same. This was noticed 30+ years ago. I wonder if this is diet related, too.

Divers and Sundry said...

That's good motivation.

Valerie-Jael said...

Very interesting post! Valerie

Maria Rodrigues said...

Hi Jan,
Knowing that they are harmful to health, we avoid eating processed foods.
Excellent information.
Hugs and all the best

Teresa said...

Como siempre tu reportaje es muy interesante. Besos.

Conniecrafter said...

I think that can always be a factor in anything but I have it and my siblings who eat not as good of a diet as I do don't have it, so I think some of it is just genetics or other factors too.

Snowbird said...

That's certainly interesting and worth taking on board!xxx

baili said...

what a wonderful article
thanks for the link ,would love to learn ore