Posted on 12/27/2005 9:07:56 PM PST by FairOpinion
Eating carrots, which are rich in the nutrient beta carotene, as well as foods containing the antioxidant vitamins C and E and zinc, results in a significantly reduced risk of age-related macular degeneration in elderly people, a new Dutch study has found.
Currently, age-related macular degeneration affects 11.5 percent of white people over the age of 80. The number of people severely disabled by late-stage AMD in the United States is expected to increase by more than 50 percent, to 3 million, in the next 20 years.
Previous studies evaluating antioxidants had shown conflicting results, with one major study showing that raising levels of beta carotene, vitamins C and E and zinc in people with early or single-eye late AMD resulted in a 25 percent reduction in the progression to late AMD over five years.
People who consumed higher levels of vitamin E and zinc had about a 10 percent lower risk of developing age-related macular degeneration. Those who had an above-average intake of all four nutrients (beta carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E and zinc) had a 35 percent reduced risk of AMD. Adding nutritional supplements to people who already had a high intake of these nutrients did not change the results.
People who consumed below-average amounts of these nutrients had a 20 percent increased risk of developing AMD, the study said.
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
health science ping
Aren't carrots high in sugar? Not a wise regimen for people watching their sugar levels.
Pinging Paul Harvey...
I have a Jack La Lanne juicer. I juice two carrots, one apple, a slice of ginger root, and a small amount of parsley. Yummmmmm.
I have a elderly next door neighbor. She was so concerned over cholesteral eating boneless skinless chicken, no red meat, yet she over looked the whole picture. We need to round out our diets, and hope for the best. Even with the best of foods, we can still have health problems. Just hell going blind though.
Yes, you are right, carrots are real high in sugar. However not refined sugar. I think it is metabolized a little slower (possibly).
People can take supplements -- vitamin A, and you can get beta-carotine.
Also, I think for foods it's not just the sugar content that counts, but the glycemic content, some have sugar, but still don't raise blood sugar, others do.
http://www.diabetesnet.com/diabetes_food_diet/glycemic_index.php
Thanks for that link (diabetes.net in Post 7), am going to check it out.
From the article:
Vitamin E is found in whole grains, vegetable oil, eggs and nuts; zinc in meat, poultry, fish, whole grains and dairy products; beta carotene in vegetables such as carrots, kale and spinach; and vitamin C in citrus fruits and juices, green peppers, broccoli and potatoes.
Why, this looks like my grandparents' diet. Do you suppose they were onto something??
You have to scroll down to the table, which gives the glycemic index of various foods.
These health foods are fine as long as you wash your mouth out with chocolate three times a day.
So is it better if the glycemic index is higher?
A low glycemic index is preferred. High glycemic index means the food causes blood sugar levels to take a sharp increase. The body reacts by producing insulin to store the suger (as fat) until the level is back to normal. The spiked insulin provokes formation of bad cholesterol and bad prostoglandins that cause inflammation, clotting and pain.
A low glycemic index food puts sugar into the blood stream at a slow rate so that it can be utilized for energy with forcing the body into dealing with a sudden excess.
The body deals with repeated spikes of insulin by becoming less sensitive to the body's natural insulin. In time this progresses to Type II diabetes. External supplementation with oral or injected insulin becomes necessary to force the body to extract the excess sugar from the blood stream. Failure to do so provokes a number of nasty side effects. Blobs of protein ane sugar form sticky little balls called advanced glycosylated end-products. These sticky balls can clog tiny blood vessels in the eyes causing blindness. Another effect is stiffening of the red blood cell wall. The red blood cell is no longer flexible enough to deform and pass into the small capillaries. The outward effect is death of nerve cells at the tips of fingers and toes from lack of oxygen. As this progresses, a form of gangrene sets in. The tissues in the fingers and toes can die and require amputation.
Choose what goes in your mouth carefully. Diabetes sucks. Type II is avoidable. Type I is believed to be an auto-immune disease provoked by a leaky gut. Young children exposed to cow's milk will leak some bovine protein into the blood stream. The body mounts a defense against the foreign protein, but ends up attacking the pancreas by mistake. The pancreas is usually a lost cause by about age five, thus "juvenile" diabetes.
That's a mine of information! You've scared me to death with that, but it was very informative. Thanks!
The death rate among Humans, world-wide, remains at a constant one death per Human.
Bummer.
Very old news. The medical establishment is so far behind the nutritionists it's pathetic. For even better results, add the amino acids LUTEIN (no, Paul Harvey fans, it does NOT have to be the "Flora-Glo Lutein" his Hi-Health pills contain), taurine and glutathione. THEN we can add the anti-oxidants pycnogenol and/or grape seed extract and the herbs eyebright and bilberry.
Remember, most MDs, especially those trained in American med schools, have had NO MORE THAN 5 HOURS OF NUTRITION CLASSES IF ANY AT ALL, yet they are totally at the mercy of the pharamaceutical industry which bombards them with tons of literature and dozens of presentations every year. So do your nutrition research ELSEWHERE. Caveat emptor!
BTW, smokers CANNOT convert much beta carotene into vitamin A, if any at all.
Sorry I'm grumpy; I can't seem to sleep.
A friend of mine in his 80's had macular degeneration. It was sad because he had an active mind and had always enjoyed reading. For a while he was able to use special viewers to enable him to read, but eventually even they became ineffective. It's something to avoid.
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