08 Jul Fibre may reduce your risk of developing glaucoma
by Ashleigh Feltham, Accredited Practising Dietitian and Accredited Nutritionist
Reduce your risk of developing glaucoma. When you think of fibre you may not link it with healthy eyes. Fibre does amazing things for the health of your body and as you are all connected, the health of one part of your body influences the rest.
Glaucoma is when the optic nerve of your eye is damaged due to increased pressure building up. There are more than 10,000 cases of glaucoma in Australia each year and can lead to loss of sight.
Fibre can reduce your risk of developing glaucoma by promoting a healthy body weight. When you include fibre in your meal the rate of sugar that is released into your bloodstream is slower. This creates sustained energy and helps to keep you feeling fuller for longer. Over a day you will end up eating less as you do not feel hungry ten minutes after your meal.
Being overweight or obese puts your body at risk of developing glaucoma, aged, related cataract, and macular degeneration. Secondly, it increases your risk of developing type two diabetes, gout, heart disease and high blood pressure. All these conditions increase your risk of glaucoma.
Research suggests there may be a positive relationship between BMI and your risk of developing glaucoma. So, the higher your BMI the greater your risk of developing glaucoma.
Dietary fibre has a direct link to helping you to achieve healthy blood pressure levels. For every 11.5g of dietary fibre you include in your diet, this may reduce your systolic blood pressure by an average of 1.1 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure by 1.3 mm Hg.
Adults need between 25-30g of dietary fibre each day.
Selecting a variety of plant foods can help you to meet these needs. So can the delicious South Australian Gourmet Food Company Fruit Custard with Added Fibre. Each one of these cleverly created products gives your body 10.9g of dietary fibre which is over 1/3rd of your daily needs of fibre.
Take home message: Support the health of your eyes by maintaining a healthy weight. Fibre can make this easier to achieve and maintain a healthy weight so make sure that you are taking advantage of this substance.
