The Mediterranean Diet vs. Diabetic Retinopathy

 There are so many different diets being advertised these days. There's keto, paleo, calorie counting, intermittent fasting, the Mediterranean diet, and so many others.

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Many people wonder which ones work the best to lose weight and others want to know which eating style overall is the healthiest. Some diets will work for certain people while others may not be best suited for their needs. Being diabetic, we know that our diet plays a big part in our diabetes management. So, which diet is recommended for diabetics? 

I see my ophthalmologist every year to monitor my eye health. It is common for diabetics over time to develop diabetic retinopathy. 

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Retinopathy in simple terms is damage to the nerves in the eye caused by uncontrolled blood sugars. It can eventually even lead to blindness. You can find more information on diabetic retinopathy here.

Wouldn't you know that after having diabetes for 25 years, I have started to show signs of retinopathy. Although serious, this is pretty common. According to the American Diabetes Association, "After 20 years of diabetes, nearly all patients with type 1 diabetes and >60% of patients with type 2 diabetes have some degree of retinopathy." Source. 

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So far, my diabetic retinopathy is fairly mild. My doctor hasn't suggested any medications yet to stop the progression. He did say that I need to get my A1C down, which is something that I have always struggled with. 

On one of my visits, my doctor showed me a picture of my eye. He pointed out some tiny little dots on the picture. He said that I had formed drusen in my eyes.

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Drusen are basically little deposits of proteins and lipids that can form near the retina. You can find more information here. He told me that I essentially, I had little pockets of "butter" in my eyes. I had never heard of such a thing! He said that it is normal for lipids and fats in your body to travel to places that have a lower concentration - your eyes being one of them. His recommendation to me was that I should try the Mediterranean diet and focus more on low-fat foods. There have been studies to see if the Mediterranean diet can improve eye health. More info here. 

So, it was time to go grocery shopping! I tried including more vegetables and lower fat options in my diet. The hardest part for me trying to eat lower fat foods was cutting back on cheese. I am a cheeseaholic! I didn't want to give up cheese totally. So, instead I switched to low-fat or fat free options. I also really like ranch- another high fat food. I compared the labels on a regular bottle of ranch to a bottle of light ranch, and the light ranch had half the amount of fat in it than the regular ranch did!

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I decided to try the light version, and I liked it! I also switched out sour cream for Greek yogurt, and instead of putting cheese or mayo on my sandwich, I used hummus instead. These are just a few substitutions that I tried. 

When my next eye exam came around, I was nervous. I was really hoping that my hard work had paid off- and it did! My doctor told me that he saw signs of improvement in one of my eyes! Eventually, both my eyes looked better! 

Focusing on a low-fat diet and the Mediterranean diet benefited me personally. These diets may not work for you if you have an underlying condition.  I definitely recommend talking with your doctor to see what diet would best suit your needs before making any changes to your diet or lifestyle. Your diet is an important part of your health and diabetes management, and it's important to find out which diet is best for you! I also highly recommend getting your eyes checked annually for diabetic retinopathy. Your doctor may be able to help take preventative measures against diabetic retinopathy.