Harvard University researchers have found that natural compounds in leafy greens may help stave off glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness that strikes an estimated 3 million Americans.
A study published this week in JAMA Ophthalmology shows that a diet rich in green, leafy vegetables — including spinach and salad lettuces — contain dietary nitrates that reduce the risk of developing the debilitating eye disease,
Medical News Today reports.
Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness. With one in 10 sufferers losing their eyesight, even with treatment.
For the new study, researchers based at Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School tracked 63,893 women and 41,094 men who are part of the long-running Nurses' Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study.
The analysis showed that those who developed primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) over the course of the research studies were far less likely to include high levels of green leafy vegetables in their diets. In fact, the researchers found that the group consuming the highest amounts of greens had up to a 30 percent lower risk of POAG.
POAG is the most common form of glaucoma and is characterized by an increase in eye pressure and a gradual loss of vision, which may be caused or exacerbated by restricted blood flow in the optic nerve.
Researcher Jae H. Kang, who led the investigation, noted dietary nitrate, predominantly derived from green, leafy vegetables, is converted to nitrous oxide in the body and has been shown to be beneficial for blood circulation.
"These results, if confirmed in observational and intervention studies, could have important public health implications," said Kang.
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