Coffee drinkers, rejoice! Aside from java’s energy jolt, food scientists say you may reap another health benefit from a daily cup of joe: prevention of deteriorating eyesight and possible blindness from retinal degeneration due to glaucoma, aging and diabetes.
Raw coffee is, on average, just 1 percent caffeine, but it contains 7 to 9 percent chlorogenic acid (CLA), a strong antioxidant that prevents retinal degeneration in mice, according to a Cornell study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (December 2013).
The retina is a thin tissue layer on the inside, back wall of the eye with millions of light-sensitive cells and other nerve cells that receive and organize visual information. It is also one of the most metabolically active tissues, demanding high levels of oxygen and making it prone to oxidative stress. The lack of oxygen and production of free radicals leads to tissue damage and loss of sight.
In the study, mice eyes were treated with nitric oxide, which creates oxidative stress and free radicals, leading to retinal degeneration, but mice pretreated with CLA developed no retinal damage.
The study is “important in understanding functional foods, that is, natural foods that provide beneficial health effects,” said Chang Y. Lee, professor of food science and the study’s senior author. Holim Jang, a graduate student in Lee’s lab, is the paper’s lead author. Lee’s lab has been working with Sang Hoon Jung, a researcher at the Functional Food Center of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology in South Korea. “Coffee is the most popular drink in the world, and we are understanding what benefit we can get from that,” Lee said.
Previous studies have shown that coffee also cuts the risk of such chronic diseases as Parkinson’s, prostate cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and age-related cognitive declines.
Since scientists know that CLA and its metabolites are absorbed in the human digestive system, the next step for this research is to determine whether drinking coffee facilitates CLA to cross a membrane known as the blood-retinal barrier. If drinking coffee proves to deliver CLA directly into the retina, doctors may one day recommend an appropriate brew to prevent retinal damage. Also, if future studies further prove CLA’s efficacy, then synthetic compounds could also be developed and delivered with eye drops. The Korea Institute of Science and Technology funded the study.
I agree with most of you that there is nothing better than a morning cup of java, and i was not surprised when i came across this article that they have found yet another possible reason that coffee is good for you.
For centuries, coffee has been consumed in many countries all over the world. Statistically, coffee is the most consumed beverage worldwide. This is one of the main reasons why scientists are constantly searching for positive attributes to coffee. It gives people reason to continue to drink it. Having said that, I have my own cuppa’ every morning.
As some of the other comments have shown, there are many other known benefits as well as disadvantages. For example, coffee is known to be related to headaches as well as different types of cancer if consumed in copious amounts, as previously mentioned. Although, studies also show that cancers such as prostate, breast and oral cancers are much less common in regular coffee drinkers who consume one to two cups daily.
Lastly, where many people who read this may then say that they are glad that their habits now have benefits, these benefits are only commonly observed when drinking coffee brewed in ground or raw coffee beans. This means that all those ‘instant coffee’ drinkers out there who think they doing themselves a justice are not reaping the benefits that coffee may have to offer.
It is amazing to think that something as common and simple as coffee combined with excessive research can prevent something as complex as retinal degeneration.
Consuming coffee everyday, to me was a slow suicide mission that would end with someone having serious brain problems. but because of studies conducted everyday by scientists all over the world, I now that coffee intake is not all that dangerous in fact it is essential for the prevention of the development of serious eye defects. Who knew that a cup only contains 1 percent caffeine, although too much it is a small price to pay than to experience eye problems in the future.
It is very interesting to see that Coffee can actually be useful to the human body with the help of CLA, Chlorogenic acid. Many people use CLA as a dietary supplement as it is supposedly important in anticancer benefits and bodybuilding. Studies have shown that there is a lack of good evidence in human health benefits and CLA may cause side effects such as stomach problems, diarrhoea, nausea, and fatigue. Therefore as the previous comments stated coffee drinking must be done in small amounts. People will most likely even drink more coffee if they hear that it is good for their eyes. The problem with this is that if they start drinking too much coffee, the negative side effects of drinking too much coffee may greatly outweigh the positive benefits. Also, in the article it also shows that there are still many questions that are unanswered and that the conclusion to this study most likely puts the cart before the horse.
While giving mice CLA helped them in preventing deterioration of their eyes, much study must still go into the benefits of CLA for human eyesight, since the amount of CLA ingested via coffee may either be too little or too much. The question of what happens if too much CLA is ingested must be thoroughly studied.
It may yet be too early to open a bottle of Champagne to celebrate. Only time will tell.
The retina is a layer of tissue that is lining the inner surface of the eye and is very sensitive to light. An image is formed on the retina from what is observed, with the help of the cornea and the lens. When the light strikes the retina, chemical and electrical events are initiated, which develop into nerve impulses and are sent to visual centres of the brain through the optical nerves.
One can thus derive that damage to the retina is serious and can hold many disadvantages for one with retinal damage. There would be no way that a clear image would form.
There are several treatments on the market for diseases or disorders affecting the retina. It is obvious that the type of treatment required, depends on the nature of the disease or disorder. Some of these treatments include transplantations (with not much success) and The University of Southern California, RWTH Aachen University, and the University of New South Wales are currently busy developing an artificial retina that will bypass the photoreceptors of the retina and stimulate attached cells directly.
All good! But I can only imagine what such transplantation costs. Therefor it is good to know that a simple cup of coffee may keep retinal damage away so that no transplantations will be needed!!!!
WOW!!This is so interesting all my life i thought drinking coffee was bad for me so today by reading this my mind is at ease. My mornings without a cup of coffee were not complete and i always drink coffee just for pleasure so from now on i know that i have a reason to drink coffee. I always heard that carrots are also good for your eye sight and my parents always forced me to have carrots but i HATE vegetables so now i have plan b that will prevent my eyesight from deteriorating…THANK YOU:-)
It is very interesting to consider that coffee has a positive effect on the retina, and that it improves eyesight. As a coffee lover, this is great news, but one has to think objective in life, so I have to say that this research is very misleading.
Just like any substance it is not recommended to over-use it. Although coffee contains CLA, it still has many health risks for example increase in cholesterol, the amount of CLA in one cup of coffee is not enough to say that it will improve one’s eye sight. Coffee may have potential health benefits but more research needs to be done.
Although this article only shows the benefits that coffee has, coffee drinking is not all that good. Just because it contains ClA which has benefits for eyesight doesn’t mean you should start drinking coffee in large amounts. In 2002 a study was done by Yingsong Lin and his group of scientists on the risk of pancreatic cancer in relation to drinking coffee (Lin et al 2002). They found that drinking more than four cups of coffee per day significantly increases a person’s risk of developing pancreatic cancer (Lin et al 2002). So even though coffee has it’s benefits, try not to overdo it.
References:
Lin, Yingsong et al. 2002. Risk if pancreatic cancer in relation to alcohol drinking, coffee consumption and medical history: Findings from the Japan collaborative cohort study for evaluation of cancer risk. International journal of cancer. Vol 99 issue 5.
When noticed this blog, joy immediately came over me because I am a committed coffee drinker. I have one cup every morning and I have received pep talks from many people about how unhealthy my habit it, at least now I can tell them it’s beneficial somehow.
I am totally in agreement with this blog. Raw coffee, also known as green coffee, is made of fresh coffee bean that have not been roasted. (Take care to drink the right coffee, not all coffee is raw.) The roasting process decreases the level of chemical chlorogenic acid present. As the blog states, it is this antioxidant that may prevents retinal degeneration. To add on to some of the other benefits of raw coffee, it may also help with weight loss without extra exercise needed, how great is that.
However, in as much as I am filled with excitement about this information I still have a few questions to ensure maximum health benefits. Which brands of coffee are most reliable to provide quality raw coffee? And seeing as this could lead to a change in lifestyle, it also has an impact of the budget which leads me to the questions, what is the price difference between raw coffee and ordinary coffee? And lastly, am I restricted to only one cup a day?
Really interesting research right there especially for me as someone who can’t live without coffee. The only problem is, how much is enough? And which coffee should coffee “addicts” be drinking, because whilst some coffees help decrease chances of getting diabetes, strokes and some cancers, unfiltered coffee increases your cholesterol levels and females who drink too much coffee could experience problem with getting pregnant.
Another issue I think might need to be taken into consideration is that not everyone reacts the same to caffeine, because I can have a strong cup of coffee right before I go to bed and still I would sleep like a baby, whilst other people might just think about coffee and not be able to sleep that evening.
So do we just stop drinking coffee, have our normal one or two cups a day or drink it like the world is coming to an end?
Honestly, I can’t wait until all these questions about whether coffee is truly good or bad for you is answered, it’s bound to be interesting results…
This is comforting news to a coffee drinker. However, having said that, there are a number of questions or issues that need to be considered. What is the appropriate amount of coffee that one should consume? Does the coffee beans used to make the coffee matter? Does the manner in which the beans are roasted affect the benefits? Is black coffee more beneficial than coffee with milk? While these questions persist, it is reassuring to know that there are still numerous inroads that science could make in providing a better understanding of some of our everday activities. It is important to bear in mind that an holistic approach has to be adopted when ascertaining the overall benefit of any product. The environmental damage that is caused through the growing and manufacture of coffee should also be considered. In this regard, while the end user may benefit from coffee consumption, the net welfare effects on society as a whole are important. All too often, this is an issue that gets clouded by commercial interests.
It is interesting to consider the possible positive effects that a daily, moderate amount of coffee may have on human retinas, and consequently eyesight. However, I would like to emphasise that, much like the suggestion of drinking just one glass of red wine a day to reduce the risks of coronary heart disease, coffee should also be drunk only in moderate amounts.
I would also like to question the effects that the preparation of the coffee beans might have on the amount of CLA that is eventually ingested. It is true that raw coffee contains a substantial amount of CLA, but that amount could be decreased after the beans have been roasted. If so, this would mean that drinking normal coffee every day might not be as beneficial as the given information may lead us to believe. I would support research in developing other methods of CLA intake.
This research possesses great potential, however, is quite misleading. CLA may be a significant contributor to the decreased possibility of acquiring retinal damage, but coffee may not necessarily be. The amount of CLA present in a single serving of coffee is insubstantial to make a significant difference in the human body, unless the coffee consumed excessively – which results in many other negative side effects and poses a threat to one’s health. More research needs to be done, mainly focussing on the development of an appropriate brew that will contain a substantial amount of CLA per serving to avoid the excessive consumption of caffeine etc. – so that one won’t be avoiding retinal damage to ones’s at the risk of one’s health. I look forward to future articles on the subject.
I strongly agree with Eloise. Although these studies prove that CLA, which is present in coffee, can reduce and even prevent retinal damage, we should still be careful. I am very impressed with the experiments, but I doubt enough experiments have been done to monitor CLA effects as well as the effects other components in coffee.
Coffee can be seen as a bad thing, and some still refuse their cups of coffee as a result of certain ‘myths’. But others are utterly dependent on coffee, focusing on the positive results experiments (such as the above) have delivered.
There are pros and cons to coffee. I am a firm believer of my morning cup of coffee and I do believe in the positive effects coffee may have, but I am sure that too much coffee can also cause serious problems.
The article above mentions a case study where CLA is shown to have prevented retinal damage in mice, however it does not explicitly state that administering coffee will yield the same results. We should therefore not get carried away and all start drinking more coffee! If future trials show that caffeine can carry CLA across the blood-retinal barrier then I will be first in line at my local coffee shop. It is unfortunate that in order to prove theories we still rely on animal testing.
This article delivers wonderful news to coffee lovers especially those who do suffer from poor eyesight . I think if they are successful in creating eye drops with synthetic compounds containing CLA or resembling CLA it would revolutionise certain treatments in ophthalmology.At the moment the only other study, that I am aware of, on the subject of preventing retinal damage (done by The University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center) is only applicable to diabetic retinopathy. This study is truly unique !On another note yes coffee can be addictive as previous comments have stated but coffee also has multiple benefits that most of us are not aware of. A recent study has shown that coffee obstructs a neurotransmitter called Adenosine, this results in increased levels of norepinephrine and dopamine which ultimately results in better memory, mood, reaction times and general cognitive function.
Wow! This research has brought much clarity into my life. I always thought that drinking coffee prevented nephritis in any dose per day. only to find out that it all matters…..in fact, it is IMPORTANT! I support the previous blogger’s comment on using the above mentioned benefits as an excuse to drink much more coffee than it is needed in the body because i am a victim of it. Now i have light in my dose and i am going to start practicing good health by taking one cup of coffee per day instead of 3. #Let there be coffee!!!!!!!
This information is very beneficial. Being a person that does not drink much coffee it is certainly surprising to hear the benefits that coffee has on chronic diseases. In the light of this information i should reconsider maybe having a cup of coffee now and then. As the previous two people have said that over indulgence of coffee could later lead to an addiction and could also prove to be fatal to your health. It is really amazing to hear that there are people out there looking to find ways to make our lives better. I really do hope that the research conducted proves to be beneficial in making the lives of people a healthier one. These functional foods can be very beneficial in reducing the risk of diseases.
It is great to know that the most popular drink in the world is a lot more beneficial than we first thought. I knew that coffee helps speed up metabolic activity, but knowing it can also prevent or at least decrease your chances of suffering from chronic diseases is comforting. On the contrary, people may use this information to their advantage as an excuse for drinking too much coffee that later can lead to an addiction as above mentioned.
This research poses a very interesting topic about coffee being beneficial with respect to one’s health. In contrast, however, just as any other drug or substance, it is possible to become addicted to coffee. Some people who drink 4+ cups a day might use these results as a convenient excuse to drink a lot of coffee and may even believe that it is healthy to drink more than 4 cups of coffee a day. So what I think should be highlighted here is that it is all in moderation. Anything and everything can be overdone, therefore it is important to note that this research talks about a SINGLE cup of coffee a day. I am looking forward to the further development of this research! I have personally never been a coffee drinker and in light of this research I am beginning to think that maybe a cup of coffee every now and then isn’t such a bad idea after all…