Eating Fruit and Vegetables May Reduce Glaucoma Risk

According to results published in the June 2008 issue of the Journal of Opthalmology, eating carrots, peaches, kale and collard greens (members of the cabbage family) can help reduce the likelihood of glaucoma and highlights the importance of eating certain antioxidants.

The investigators used a large cross section of woman over the age of 55 from different communities. They were able to look at the foods they were eating to determine if there was an association with having glaucoma or not.

Some of the interesting results:

If their diet included at least one serving of either green collards or kale a month, they had a decreased likelihood of glaucoma by 69%

If they had two servings per week of carrots compared to those who had less than one, there was a 64% decrease in the likelihood of glaucoma

For those who ate canned or dried peaches once a week, there was a 47% decreased likelihood of glaucoma

They found a correlation between riboflavin and vitamin A and decreased odds of having glaucoma

Conversely, they found that orange juice was associated increasing the odds of having glaucoma due to the cryptoxanthin in the orange juice

The studies are continuing to compare blood levels of nutrients in glaucoma patients compared with those without the disorder.