Good News for Coffee Drinkers

Coffee may do more than just perk you up in the morning. Researchers have discovered the coffee bean actually can help prevent vision loss, blindness, and glaucoma.

According to the Cornell Chronicle, coffee beans contain chlorogenic acid (CLA), which has been identified as a powerful antioxidant that prevents retinal degeneration. Researchers studied mice that were treated with nitric oxide, which promotes stress and free radicals. Those mice who received the nitric oxide suffered from retinal degeneration. Another group were pretreated with CLA, the antioxidant in coffee, before receiving nitric oxide. These mice did not suffer from retinal damage.

Scientists are now examining if CLA is capable of crossing the membrane that covers the retina, the blood-retinal barrier. According to the Cornell Chronicle, "If drinking coffee proves to deliver CLA directly into the retina, doctors may one day recommend an appropriate brew to prevent retinal damage." They added that if CLA has that power, you may one day see the antioxidant from your coffee in eye drops.