Green leafed vegetables reduce the risk of glaucoma, but it is also a good idea to seek a doctor if we develop glaucoma-related symptoms or if we have someone in the family who is or was suffering from this macular disease.
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The team of researchers has reviewed the health survey provided by the Nurse’s Health Study ad have determined that patients who consume many green leafed vegetables have 20 to 30 percent fewer chances of developing glaucoma. This disease is generally caused by a fluid build-up in the frontal part of the eye that leads to optic nerve damage.
What is it about leafy greens that may help eye health? Participants were divided into quintiles (one of five groups) of dietary nitrate intake (quintile 5, approximately 240 mg/d; quintile 1, approximately 80 mg/d).
Based on the study, researchers are recommending an increase in consumption of these vegetables, especially for those who are at risk of developing the condition – those who are 60 years old and older, those who have a family history of glaucoma, and even African-Americans who are over the age of 40. Green leafy vegetables contain nitrates, which are precursors to nitric oxide, the researchers said.
If the finding claiming that glaucoma risk gets lowered by eating green leafy vegetables is proven to be correct after more conclusive clinical trials and analysis are conducted, people will have yet another reason to adopt a vegetable-based diet. As per the statistical figures released, about three million people suffer from the condition in the United States.
Every two years the diets were monitored and nitrate intake calculated. Nitrate is found in spinach, kale and lettuce. “These nutrients improve blood flow to the back of the eye in general, we feel, and that’s where we think the advantages come from”, he said. The association was particularly strong (40 per cent-50 per cent lower risk) for POAG with early paracentral visual field loss (a subtype of POAG linked to dysfunction in blood flow autoregulation).
Nitrates found in green leafed vegetables can reduce the risk of glaucoma by 20 to 30 percent.
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Previous studies suggested nitrate or nitrite, precursors for nitric oxide, is beneficial for blood circulation so scientists from Harvard Medical School looked at the link of diet and POAG. In subsequent years, 1,483 people developed the eye condition.
