Is Sugar Bad for Your Eyes?

Looks like there may be yet another reason to kick sugar and white flour out of your diet: eye health.

Cutting back on processed carbs could lower your risk of advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of blindness in people 60 and older.

The Carb Connection
What makes refined carbs so bad for your peepers? Seems their high glycemic index may be partly to blame. High-glycemic-index foods boost a whole bunch of bad things linked to AMD -- like increases in oxidative stress, inflammation, and blood-fat levels. (Get a simple breakdown on what high or low glycemic index means.)

See the Future
Along with replacing the "bad" carbs in your diet with high-fiber whole grains, try these other sight-saving steps:

• Make sure your diet includes these four super eye nutrients.
• Figure out if changes in your vision are normal. (This article can tell you what's normal when your eyes age -- and what's not.)
• See if it's time for a checkup. Answer the questions in this Disease Prevention Checklist.

Check out these five ways to cut down on dry eyes.

You Can Think Yourself Thin

Here's a novel weight-loss strategy. Before you take one single bite, think about your last meal -- every detail.

It may sound silly, but there's science behind the idea. People in a study who thought about their last meal before snacking munched less. So before your next nibble, picture your lunch plate.

Mind over Matter
It made no difference how tempting the treat. When people were asked to remember what they had for lunch that day prior to eating a popcorn snack, they ate less of the munchy stuff -- regardless of whether it was seasoned or served plain. All of which suggests that appetite may be linked to food memory cues. (Can you afford to eat that fudge brownie? Find out here.)

Daily Strength for the Dieter
Give yourself some superhuman willpower with these tricks for resisting dietary temptations:

• Scrap the three squares . . . and eat smaller, more frequent meals. Here's why.
• Nosh on whole-grain bread with olive oil before a meal. Learn how first eating some healthy fat quells the urge to splurge.
• Take a nap. Find out how being sleep deprived can damage a diet.

The Best Place to Walk

A walk on a treadmill or a walk in the park? Either one will get you fit, but the walk in the park may make you feel a whole lot better!

Research confirms it: Exercising in a green environment puts you in a better frame of mind than working out in a sterile gym. Go figure!

The Green Scene
In a study, people walked on a treadmill and viewed pictures of urban areas or images of rural scenes with lots of green spaces. The result? Besides bringing down blood pressure, viewing the green scenery improved energy and activity levels, raised self-esteem, and boosted mood. (Read how going green indoors is good for your health, too.)

Loving Life
Here's more on living the happy life:

• All work and no play . . . can make you a real stress case. Find out why vacations are so important to your well-being.
• Train yourself to be an optimist. You'll be happier and healthier. Here's how to do it.
• Find out what scientists say is the key to happiness.