Scientists Just Discovered the #1 Vitamin to Protect Your Vision
Vitamin B supplements can slow the progression of glaucoma, per new research.
Did you know that your eyeballs are the only part of the body where a doctor can clearly see your blood vessels, nerves, and connective tissue? That’s why experts consider the eyes “the true windows into one’s health,” says the American Optometric Association (AOA). And new research indicates that one of the best ways to protect your vision is with vitamin B supplementation, which can stunt the progression of glaucoma.
RELATED: The #1 Snack to Protect Your Vision, Eye Doctors Say.
Who’s at risk for glaucoma?
In healthy people, “fluid leaves the eye through the drainage angle, keeping pressure stable,” as explained by the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO). But with glaucoma, excess fluid “builds up in the front part of your eye,” and subsequently, “increases the pressure in your eye, damaging the optic nerve.”
Glaucoma can cause fuzzy vision, in which you might experience “blind spots.” However, in more advanced cases, it can result in blindness.
“The optic nerve is made of more than a million tiny nerve fibers. It is like an electric cable made up of many small wires. As these nerve fibers die, you will develop blind spots in your vision. You may not notice these blind spots until most of your optic nerve fibers have died. If all of the fibers die, you will become blind,” explains the AAO.
There are four different types of glaucoma:
- Open-angle glaucoma
- Acute angle-closure glaucoma
- Normal-tension glaucoma
- Pigmentary glaucoma
Known as the “silent thief of sight,” glaucoma is asymptomatic in its early stages. Half of people don’t even know they have it, which puts patients at greater risk of impaired vision or blindness if the condition remains undiagnosed, says the AAO. Glaucoma is a main trigger of blindness for people over 60. Common risk factors are:
- Having high eye pressure
- Being farsighted or nearsighted
- Suffered an eye injury
- Long-term steroid medication use
- Having corneas that are thin in the center
- Having thinning of the optic nerve
- Diabetes, migraines, high blood pressure, poor blood circulation, or other health problems affecting the whole body
- Family history of glaucoma
- Those over the age of 40
Glaucoma is commonly treated with eye drops, though some patients may elect to have laser treatment or surgery. But in more recent news, a groundbreaking discovery shows that certain B vitamins can also help manage glaucoma.
RELATED: 94% of People With These Vision Problems Develop Alzheimer’s, New Study Finds.
New research suggests that vitamin B supplements can help manage glaucoma.
Glaucoma isn’t reversible, though there are treatment options that can help slow its progression, one of which includes vitamin B supplements.
According to a new study published in the journal Cell Reports Medicine, vitamin B supplements, as well as the nutrient choline, can prevent neurodegeneration and protect visual function in patients with glaucoma. The supplements include vitamins B6, B9, and B12. Meanwhile, choline helps regulate memory, mood, muscle control, and other nervous system functions, per the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Previous studies pointed to homocysteine (a type of amino acid) as the reason for the vitamins’ effect. But researchers from the Karolinska Institute have seemingly debunked this theory, as their investigation shows that homocysteine is a consequence of glaucoma, not the root cause.
These findings stemmed from a rodent model, in which mice and rats with glaucoma saw noticeable improvements after taking B6, B9, and B12 supplements. In fact, damage to the optic nerve stopped in mice with slower-developing glaucoma. The rats were treated for a more aggressive form of the condition, which slowed in the presence of vitamin B supplements. Moreover, eye pressure wasn’t a variable, proving that glaucoma can be managed in unrelated ways.
“We demonstrate that homocysteine does not contribute to the progression of glaucoma. Rather, elevation of homocysteine in the retina marks dysfunction of one-carbon metabolism and the interaction of its vitamin cofactors and precursors B6, B9, B12, and choline. Supplementation of these provides robust neuroprotection with strong potential for translation to glaucoma patients,” wrote the authors.
A clinical trial with humans is currently underway.
