Eating a Western-style diet may increase the risk of advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a study in the British Journal of Ophthalmology suggested.
Of 144 people who experienced this leading cause of blindness, those whose diets most aligned with a Western (predominantly unhealthy) eating pattern—high in red meat, fried food, refined grains, and full-fat dairy—had more than triple the likelihood of developing late-stage AMD over 18 years as those who ate less of such foods, after age, race, education, calorie intake, and smoking were controlled for. The Western diet was not associated with early AMD, however.
