Glaucoma is a condition that results when a high intraocular pressure damages your optic nerve. If you have glaucoma damage, you will experience gradual changes to your side vision, and, if uncontrolled, can result in complete blindness. As a result of the potential vision loss, many people have concerns about foods, such as canola oil, that may play a role in glaucoma damage. Understanding these myths will help you make the best choices for your eyes.
Eye Pressure
The front area of your eye, just in front of your iris, contains fluid called aqueous. Newly made aqueous continuously enters the eye to provide nourishment, and the older aqueous drains through an angled drainage canal near the bottom of the eye. If the fluid cannot drain as fast as aqueous enters the eye, the pressure may increase, gradually slowing blood flow to the optic nerve, which damages the nerve fiber tissues. In some instances, the drainage angle may close, resulting in a sudden pressure spike that causes intense pain, nausea and vomiting. This condition requires immediate medical attention to prevent permanent loss of vision.
Canola Oil
Canola oil comes from the canola seed, a hybrid plant created from the rapeseed in the 1970s. Many health professionals recommend canola oil, particularly since it contains omega-3 fatty acid, an essential acid that may offer benefits for many health conditions. Doctors often recommend that people with high cholesterol and heart disease take omega-3 supplements or increase their dietary intake of this fatty acid. Omega-3 may also play a role in preventing certain eye diseases, such as macular degeneration.
Myth
Since the hybrid process that formed canola first started with rapeseed, some people have concerns that canola will have the same toxic effects as rapeseed on the human body. The toxicity of rapeseed comes from the high content of erucic acid, but canola seeds contain a very small amount of this toxic component.
One myth surrounding consumption is that canola oil will cause glaucoma. This stems from the misconception that high eye pressure does not cause glaucoma, but that the optic nerve is deprived of oxygen, explains Dr. Jean Weese of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.
Considerations
If you have concerns about the glaucoma risks from using canola oil, you should talk with your doctor. She may recommend that you use a different type of oil to alleviate your concerns. If you have risks factors for glaucoma, such as family history, you should have regular eye examinations, and this may help reduce your concerns about glaucoma damage.
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