Glaucoma, a serious eye condition, causes fluid pressure to build up inside the eye (intraocular pressure). Over time this can damage the optic nerve and is one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide. Currently, 57.5 million people have glaucoma.
Researchers looked at data from the 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). They examined the consumption of hot tea, caffeinated and decaffeinated drinks, decaffeinated tea, iced tea and soda to see if there was a connection between drinking these beverages and the risk for glaucoma.
After ruling out those who had diabetes or smoked, hot tea-drinkers had a 74% lowered risk for glaucoma. This is a preliminary study because it was observational, the number of subjects was small, and cup size, tea type and length of brewing were not examined.
Bottom line: A cup of tea a day may be beneficial to your eyes because tea contains antioxidants and neuroprotective compounds but we have a lot more to learn before the connection between tea and glaucoma is conclusive.
