Posted on 05/06/2014 1:00:29 PM PDT by JoeProBono
A coffee a day could help keep eye diseases at bay.
That’s according to a joint study out of South Korea and the United States, which concluded that powerful antioxidants found in coffee can play a role in preventing age-related eye diseases and the degeneration of eyesight.
For their research, scientists looked at the impact of chlorogenic acid or CLA, a strong antioxidant that has been shown to prevent retinal degeneration in mice.
To conduct their experiment, mice were treated with nitric oxide, which creates oxidative stress and free radicals and leads to retinal degeneration. Those that were pretreated with CLA developed no sign of retinal damage.
The retina is a thin tissue located on the back wall of the eye that receives and organizes visual information, researchers explain.
It’s also one of the most metabolically active tissues and requires high levels of oxygen. Without it, the tissue is particularly vulnerable to oxidative stress and prone to the production of free radicals, which leads to tissue damage and loss of sight.
However, it’s not yet known whether or not drinking coffee delivers CLA directly to the retina, researchers stress. Future studies could lead to the development of a special brew customised for retinal support, or CLA delivery via eye drops.
The study, published in the Journal Of Agricultural And Food Chemistry, is the latest to vaunt the nutritional merits of coffee.
Another large scale, US-led study published recently in the journal European Association For The Study Of Diabetes found that people who drank three or more cups of coffee a day had the lowest risk of type 2 diabetes – 37% lower than those who consumed one cup or less per day.
Scientists looked at the coffee consumption patterns of 95,000 women and 28,000 men.
I only have one cup of coffee a day.
Now, I might top it off 5, 6, 12 times, but it's the same cup!! :-p
Because you can’t see if your eyes aren’t open.
My coughee is damaging.
I think it is 1d8 worth of damage versus saving throw.
Terrific pic. :-)
.
I don’t doubt that somebody would try that. I’d really like to read the autopsy report.
That kid is in my 1st period class!! ....and that’s after he’s had his daily dose of Monster or Rock Star to start his day.
I wish I'd known about this years ago! :)
I think every thread should contain at least one reference to Gilligan’s Island.
Apparently chlorogenic acid is also called CGA. There is another substance called conjugated linoleic acid which is frequently abbreviated CLA. This also has health benefits but does not come from coffee.
April 28, 2014
A cup of coffee a day may keep retinal damage away
By
Krishna Ramanujan
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.
http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/2014/04/cup-coffee-day-may-keep-retinal-damage-away
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