Sugar and AMD
I've read much about sugar and AMD. I'm looking for info regarding the replacements for 'real' sugar. As you know, sugar is in nearly everything that comes in a package. I've been buying sugar free cookies with the sweetener being a sugar alcohol - in this case maltitol (which I've never heard of). I use Truvia as a sweetener for coffee and that is made from stevia leaf extract plus erythritol, another sugar alcohol. 100% powdered stevia is sold, but I haven't tried it. I look for 'no added sugars' in my food choices, but there are all those natural sugars as in fruit. Can anyone steer me in the right direction for assessing the effect of natural sugars and sugar alcohols and other sugar substitutes on AMD?
I think you were on the right track with your concern about the effects of sugar on macular degeneration. I found a good article at brightfocus.org that you might like to read on natural sugars https://www.brightfocus.org/macular/article/sugar-and-age-related-macular
If you haven’t asked your. Retinal specialist for his recommendation in regard to sugar and artificial sweeteners you might want to do that. Most study show that eaten in moderation artificial sweeteners are safe but it would be best to follow a doctors recommendation. Over the course of the last 30 years I have gradually reduced my consumption of sugar to avoid weight gain. I did not know when I started that I would have macular degeneration but I am glad I started cutting back well before my diagnosis. Best of luck, Sharon Moore Advocate
, Andrea, one of our authors, wrote a series about sugar that you might find helpful. Here’s the link: https://maculardegeneration.net/search?s=Andrea%20sugar. You can check out the references she used at the bottom of each article. Hope this helps, Cora Lyn, MacularDegeneration.net Team Member
