Can Tea help with Glaucoma?

Apparently drinking hot tea could help reduce the risk of glaucoma. Can it though or is it one of these theories that is true one minute and then dismissed the next? A bit like red wine is good for you and then next minute, no... it's totally bad for you.

I get a little excited about scientific research, I like to believe that there are really clever people finding these important breakthroughs and especially those that involve improving my health by drinking loads of tea. Who was involved with this research and why wasn't I consulted? I am more than happy to drink tea to help with medical research. Such a chore but I could do it. 

Glaucoma is believed to effect around 50 million people around the world and is caused by the pressure of fluids inside the eye damaging the optic nerve, this can lead to loss of sight if left undetected. 

The research which took part in the US involved approximately 1500 people 40 years or over and monitoring eye examinations as well as collecting nutritional data. This included their intake of coffee, tea, iced tea, and soft drinks taking into consideration caffeinated and decaffeinated varieties too. The results led to a link to hot tea with a consumption rate of just one cup a day, so those who consumed hot tea seemed less likely to receive a diagnosis of glaucoma compared to those who didn't drink tea.

The research is also a bit vague at this time and there are many factors that may not actually lead us to believe that tea makes any difference at all. I think what they are saying is they may need to invest in more tea to get a more accurate result and I back them 100%. 

It isn't clear whether there is a difference between caffeinated or decaf, there may be errors regarding diagnosis and lack of information on the actual tea which was consumed. But what we do know is that tea does contain many antioxidants and natural anti inflammatories to make it well worth drinking anyway. 

I do love these studies which get people quite excited but then say, in not so many words, well we're not completely sure but hey it won't do you any harm to consume it so carry on. All I can say is that I'm a tea'aholic so I'll keep you posted on whether I develop glaucoma. Think of me as a lab rat sponsored by Tetley (other teas are available). Watch this space.

Thank you so much for reading today I do appreciate it. If you would like to pop back tomorrow I will be writing a post for Whatever Wednesday so feel free to join me for that. For now though......

​Take care.