Coffee Drinkers are Less Likely to Have Vision Problems: Study
Drinking coffee can protect against blindness and vision problems, according to a study.
A daily dose of cuppa is beneficial for the body and mind as it wards off the risk of heart diseases, diabetes, brain defects, stress and depression. Researchers from the Cornell University discovered Chlorogenic acid (CLA), an antioxidant compound found in coffee, prevents blindness and eyesight problems from retinal denigration caused due to diabetes, glaucoma and aging. For the study, experts gave mice nitric oxide to trigger oxidative stress and free radicals leading to retinal integration.
The mice were divided in two groups-one that received CLA and a control group.
It was found that mice that were treated with CLA did not experience any damages in their retina. The study explained that coffee contains about seven to nine percent of CLA that helps reverse the damage to the tissue and avoid loss of eye sight in the mice. The retina is a light-sensitive layer of tissue in the eye that helps perceive visual images and therefore remains constantly active. For this it requires sufficient supply of oxygen and is very prone to oxidative stress. Oxygen deprivation and production of free radicals impairs the retinal tissue and creates vision problems.
"The study is important in understanding functional foods, that is, natural foods that provide beneficial health effects. Coffee is the most popular drink in the world, and we understand what benefit we can get from that," said Chang Y. Lee, study author, professor of food science and researcher at the Functional Food Center of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology in South Korea in a press release.
The authors believe further investigations are needed to determine if CLA can get beyond blood-retinal barrier or get directly absorbed by the retina. These findings aid developing new methods to treat vision difficulties.
The research was funded by the Korean Institute of Science and Technology. More information is available online in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
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