Allopathic conventional ophthalmology currently espouses the belief that age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a disease primarily caused by aging and genetics, with ‘environmental factors’ coming in a distant third. The authors’ recently published research proffered the hypothesis that it is the ‘displacing foods of modern commerce’ that are the primary and proximate cause of AMD. The evidence in support of this hypothesis correlates elevated consumption of processed, nutrient-deficient and potentially toxic foods, with rising prevalence of AMD in multiple nations; whereas evidence for consumption of native, traditional, nutrient-dense diets in multiple nations, is correlated with rarity of AMD. U.S. CDC food consumption data, correlating processed food laden diets with multiple diseases of Western civilization, including heart disease deaths, type 2 diabetes, stroke, cancer, obesity, and severe vision loss secondary to AMD, will be reviewed, thus challenging the belief system that AMD is primarily a disease of aging and genetics.
Learning Objectives: - At the conclusion of this activity, participants will have a fundamental appreciation of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) as the leading cause of severe vision loss and blindness in people over the age of 65.
- Participants will be able to recite some evidence that AMD was a rare disorder in the 19th century, rising to epidemic proportions in developed nations by the late 20th century, in correlation to rising processed food consumption.
Participants will be able to discuss U.S. CDC evidence for elevated processed food consumption and higher incidence and prevalence of heart disease deaths, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, stroke, cancer, obesity, and severe vision loss and blindness, the majority of the latter being secondary to AMD.
