The risk of glaucoma, the second leading cause of blindness, appears to be dramatically reduced by kale or collard greens consumption, thanks to the phytonutrient pigments lutein and zeaxanthin.
Prevent Glaucoma and See 27 Miles Farther
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Glaucoma is a deterioration of our optic nerve, the nerve that connects our eyes to our brain, and is second only to cataracts as the world’s leading cause of blindness. The weird thing is that we still don’t know what causes it, and so there’s a desperate search for environmental or dietary influences.
The most protective dietary component, decreasing the odds of glaucoma by 69%—consuming at least one serving a month of collard greens or kale. Just once a month or more. And the silver and bronze medals go to weekly carrot, and then peach, consumption.
We think it may be the lutein and zeaxanthin, two yellow plant pigments found mostly in greens, that seem to know right where to go. They hone right in to our retinas, and appear to protect against degenerative eye disease.
Lycopene is the red pigment in tomatoes so protective against prostate cancer. Guess where it goes when a man eats a tomato? Straight to the prostate. Beta-carotene in foods may prevent ovarian cancer—builds up in the ovaries. And where does our body need the lutein and zeaxanthin? In our retinas, to protect our eyesight, and that’s exactly where it goes. They not only protect, but improve our vision.
Their peak light absorbance just so happens to be just the wavelength of color of our planet’s sky. And so, by filtering out that blue haze, on a clear day standing on top of a mountain, individuals with high macular pigment—lutein and zeaxanthin phytonutrients from greens—may be able to distinguish distant mountain ridges up to 27 miles further than individuals with little or no pigment.
To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by veganmontreal.
Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.
- Coleman AL, Stone KL, Kodjebacheva G, Yu F, Pedula KL, Ensrud KE, Cauley JA, Hochberg MC, Topouzis F, Badala F, Mangione CM; Study of Osteoporotic Fractures Research Group. Glaucoma risk and the consumption of fruits and vegetables among older women in the study of osteoporotic fractures. Am J Ophthalmol. 2008 Jun;145(6):1081-9.
- Stringham JM, Bovier ER, Wong JC, Hammond BR Jr. The influence of dietary lutein and zeaxanthin on visual performance. J Food Sci. 2010 Jan-Feb;75(1):R24-9.
- Jeong NH, Song ES, Lee JM, Lee KB, Kim MK, Cheon JE, Lee JK, Son SK, Lee JP, Kim JH, Hur SY, Kwon YI. Plasma carotenoids, retinol and tocopherol levels and the risk of ovarian cancer. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2009;88(4):457-62.
Images thanks to National Eye Institute and Wikimedia Commons.
Glaucoma is a deterioration of our optic nerve, the nerve that connects our eyes to our brain, and is second only to cataracts as the world’s leading cause of blindness. The weird thing is that we still don’t know what causes it, and so there’s a desperate search for environmental or dietary influences.
The most protective dietary component, decreasing the odds of glaucoma by 69%—consuming at least one serving a month of collard greens or kale. Just once a month or more. And the silver and bronze medals go to weekly carrot, and then peach, consumption.
We think it may be the lutein and zeaxanthin, two yellow plant pigments found mostly in greens, that seem to know right where to go. They hone right in to our retinas, and appear to protect against degenerative eye disease.
Lycopene is the red pigment in tomatoes so protective against prostate cancer. Guess where it goes when a man eats a tomato? Straight to the prostate. Beta-carotene in foods may prevent ovarian cancer—builds up in the ovaries. And where does our body need the lutein and zeaxanthin? In our retinas, to protect our eyesight, and that’s exactly where it goes. They not only protect, but improve our vision.
Their peak light absorbance just so happens to be just the wavelength of color of our planet’s sky. And so, by filtering out that blue haze, on a clear day standing on top of a mountain, individuals with high macular pigment—lutein and zeaxanthin phytonutrients from greens—may be able to distinguish distant mountain ridges up to 27 miles further than individuals with little or no pigment.
To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by veganmontreal.
Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.
- Coleman AL, Stone KL, Kodjebacheva G, Yu F, Pedula KL, Ensrud KE, Cauley JA, Hochberg MC, Topouzis F, Badala F, Mangione CM; Study of Osteoporotic Fractures Research Group. Glaucoma risk and the consumption of fruits and vegetables among older women in the study of osteoporotic fractures. Am J Ophthalmol. 2008 Jun;145(6):1081-9.
- Stringham JM, Bovier ER, Wong JC, Hammond BR Jr. The influence of dietary lutein and zeaxanthin on visual performance. J Food Sci. 2010 Jan-Feb;75(1):R24-9.
- Jeong NH, Song ES, Lee JM, Lee KB, Kim MK, Cheon JE, Lee JK, Son SK, Lee JP, Kim JH, Hur SY, Kwon YI. Plasma carotenoids, retinol and tocopherol levels and the risk of ovarian cancer. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2009;88(4):457-62.
Images thanks to National Eye Institute and Wikimedia Commons.
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Title
Prevent Glaucoma and See 27 Miles Farther
LicenseCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Content URLDoctor's Note
I covered two other leading causes of blindness—age-related macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy—in Preventing Macular Degeneration with Diet. I’ll close this three-part series on preventing vision loss by addressing the world’s leading cause of blindness, cataracts, in Preventing Cataracts with Diet. For more on lutein and zeaxanthin, and where to get them in the diet, see my video Egg Industry Blind Spot.
For additional context, check out my associated blog posts: Preserving Vision Through Diet; Eating Green to Prevent Cancer; The Anti-Wrinkle Diet; and Prevent Breast Cancer by Any Greens Necessary.
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