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Link found between high-fat diet and risk of blindness
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ORLANDO, Fla.--High-fat diets have been found to increase the risk of macular degeneration by 80%.
Julie A. Mares-Perlman, a nutritionist and epidemiologist in the ophthalmology department at the University of Wisconsin Medical School, Madison, reported these findings at a seminar here sponsored by Research to Prevent Blindness. She also reported that vitamin supplements may lower the risk of cataracts by 40%.
Macular degeneration is the most common cause of blindness in the elderly. An estimated 10 million Americans suffer some visual loss from the condition.
Unhealthy eating can affect the blood vessels in the eye just as it affects coronary arteries and causes heart disease, according to Mares-Perlman. Saturated fats and cholesterol can clog the arteries that properly nourish the tissue underneath the retina of the eye.
Mares-Perlman said her studies may produce dietary recommendations similar to those for reducing the risk of cancer and heart disease. Her studies were based on 2,000 men and women between the ages of 45 and 85, in Beaver Dam, Wis.