Glaucoma – Natural Prevention

Greetings everyone.

Your eyesights is possibly one of your most important senses. Glaucoma sadly is becoming quite a prevelent disease in modern society. Glaucoma can be a silent theif. Probably half the people who have it develop it with no symptoms. Meanwhile, their vision is slowly being stolen by pressure that gradually damages the optic nerve in the eye. Others who have Glaucoma experience blurred vision, loss of side or peripheral vision, coloured rings or haloes around lights or eye pain. You see, inside the eye a liquid refered to as the aqueous humour flows around the eye carrying away wastes. If the fine vessels supplying this liquid deliver too much or don’t drain well enough, pressure builds up in the eye. This pressure can damage the optic nerve resulting in vision loss. This damage is irreversable.Glaucoma can occur due to trauma, tumours, diabetes, high blood pressure, hereditary or use of corticosteroids eyedrops. So how do we help ourselves prevent this then?

Vitamins and Antioxidants! Vitamin C has been shown to reduce pressure inside the eyes. If you are at risk for glaucoma, use either vitamin C supplementation or herbs and foods that are high in vitamin c. Other antioxidants may also help prevent glaucoma, but little research has been done. If you’re at risk of this vision theif, it is worth making part of your daily routine a cup of antioxidant tea. Look for teas that contain rosemary, shepards purse or tumeric. Greet tea and orgain black tea has lots of antioxidants as well.

It is also a good idea to eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables to ensure a good dose of antioxidants daily. Mix up the colours! Good sources of Vitamin C are;

• Red, Green, Yellow Capsicum
• Citrus Fruits
• Parsley
• Strawberries and Strawberry leaves
• Tumeric

Herbs high in antioxidants include:

• Rosemary
• Shepards Purse
• Tumeric

Be sure to leave your comments and any experiences you have had with this condition and any natural approaches you have used also, I’d love to hear about them.

Have a great day!

Craig Hitchens. B.HSc.