It’s generally said that consumption of carrots is the key to good eyesight, however it has turned out that leafy green vegetables could be the secret to boost our sight. Scientists revealed that a nitrate rich diet cuts glaucoma risk by nearly 30%. Nitrate is found in spinach, kale and lettuce.

In the United States, roughly three million people suffer from glaucoma presently. Glaucoma is a disease of the eye’s optic nerve. The study results could be helpful in more glaucoma cases from developing.

Brigham & Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School scientists studied the link between the consumption of dietary nitrate and primary open-angle glaucoma.

According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the disease occurs due to damage to the optic nerve, generally because of fluid buildup in the eye’s front part. It is the main cause of blindness for people above 60 years.

Earlier study suggested that nitrate, present in leafy green vegetables, is helpful in blood circulation. And thus scientists decided to see if it has any effects on glaucoma.

They studied the diets and analyzed eye exams of about 64,000 women in the time period between 1984 and 2012, and 41,000 men. In the beginning of the study, every participant was above the age of 40 and none of them had glaucoma. Scientists conducted eye exams of the participants every two years.

The surveys carried out follow ups of the participants for more than 25 years. The participants were made to fill repeated questionnaires, which allowed the researchers in evaluating their nitrate consumption and glaucoma risk.

And, during the course of the study 1,483 participants have developed the disease. The researchers noted the dietary intake of the participants. They discovered that the ones with higher intake of dietary nitrate and green leafy vegetables had 20 to 30% lesser chances of suffering from glaucoma.