Glaucoma is a serious eye disease that can result in blindness. Despite its seriousness, you don’t hear much about glaucoma prevention in the media. Glaucoma occurs when there is a build-up of excess pressure within the eye socket. It usually occurs as a result of malfunction of the eyes’ drainage system. This can occur as a result of diabetes, inflammation, trauma to the eye or previous surgery. Glaucoma is quite common among diabetics. Recently, researchers evaluated data from both the Nurses' Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. What they found is a 25 percent reduced risk of glaucoma in individuals who consumed the most folate compared to those who consumed the least. There was also a slightly reduced risk in people who reported regular use of multivitamins. Folate is also known as vitamin B9. The synthetic form of folate is called folic acid and it is commonly found in vitamin supplements. Folic acid is also added to many foods such as breakfast cereals and bread. Natural folate is abundantly found in vegetables, such as spinach, kale, asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and green peas. These vegetables contain so many nutrients that help to protect your vision. Try to include them in your diet regularly. Making your own raw vegetable juices will give you a concentrated boost of folate. See recipe ideas in the book Raw Juices Can Save Your Life. Reference: Kang JH, Loomis SJ, Wiggs JL, et al. A Prospective Study of Folate, Vitamin B6, and Vitamin B12 Intake in Relation to Exfoliation Glaucoma or Suspected Exfoliation Glaucoma. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2014 Apr 3

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