Leafy inexperienced greens might decrease glaucoma danger
December 23, 2025
2 min learn
Key takeaways:
- Cross-sectional and potential proof suggests dietary nitrate protects towards glaucoma.
- Present proof is proscribed, however addressing life-style components might assist protect imaginative and prescient.
Consuming leafy inexperienced greens is “constantly related to” a decrease danger for creating major open-angle glaucoma, in keeping with information revealed in Vitamins.
“Rising proof means that life-style components — notably dietary patterns and particular vitamins, in addition to train, smoking, sleep, alcohol and caffeine — might modulate underlying pathophysiological mechanisms of glaucoma,” Akiko Hanyuda, of the Keio College Faculty of Drugs, in Japan, and colleagues wrote. “If these exposures could be harnessed to favorably shift [mechanisms of glaucoma], they could complement IOP-lowering methods to scale back illness danger and sluggish development.”
Consuming leafy inexperienced greens is “constantly related to” a decrease danger for creating major open-angle glaucoma. Picture: Adobe Inventory
To be taught extra about how glaucoma is influenced by weight loss program, life-style and train, Hanyuda and colleagues performed a story evaluate of 35 research revealed previous to Sept. 30, 2025.
“Prior critiques usually catalog exposures (eg, ‘antioxidants,’ ‘train’) or deal with single components with out explaining how they modulate glaucoma mechanisms and barely discover the mechanistic insights on the relation between varied life-style components and glaucoma,” they wrote. “Herein, guided by this mechanism-first framework, the current narrative evaluate synthesizes proof on how life-style and dietary components affect the incidence and development of glaucoma.”
In accordance with the evaluate, each a cross-sectional examine and a potential examine have linked greater consumption of leafy greens to decrease danger for glaucoma. Within the potential examine, the danger was particularly decrease for major open-angle glaucoma with early paracentral discipline loss, the researchers wrote.
“Nevertheless, it stays unsure whether or not this profit is attributable to nitrate content material particularly or to coexisting antioxidant compounds,” Hanyuda and colleagues wrote.
They famous that darkish leafy inexperienced greens are wealthy in dietary nitrates; these are transformed to nitric oxide, which has been discovered to learn eye well being, they wrote.
“[Nitric oxide], derived from dietary nitrate (notably from darkish inexperienced leafy greens) and endothelial manufacturing, enhances ocular blood circulate,” they wrote. “Glaucoma sufferers have been discovered to exhibit decreased [nitric oxide] ranges and compromised ocular hemodynamics.”
Hanyuda and colleagues wrote that the majority research of their evaluate had been restricted in nature, including that “at this stage, it’s tough to advise sufferers with glaucoma on modifying their dietary and life-style habits.” Nevertheless, counseling sufferers on life-style components “gives a chance for precision prevention.”
“By addressing modifiable danger components early, earlier than irreversible [retinal ganglion cell] loss happens, clinicians could possibly protect visible operate, lengthen quality-adjusted life years and in the end cut back the worldwide burden of blindness.”
Sources/Disclosures
Supply:
Hanyuda A, et al. Vitamins. 2025;doi:10.3390/nu17213369.
Disclosures:
The authors report no related monetary disclosures. This examine was partly funded by a grant from the Japan Science and Expertise Company via the Middle of Innovation Program, in addition to KAKENHI Grants-in-Support for Scientific Analysis.
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