Drinking 4 Cups of Coffee Each Day Could Increase Risk of Glaucoma
If you are a coffee addict you might want to listen up! Drinking four cups each day can nearly quadruple your risk for developing glaucoma if you already have a genetic disposition toward high eye pressure. According to DailyMail.co.uk, researchers from Mount Sinai Hospital in New York studied the dietary health of 120,000 adults from ages 39-73.
Glaucoma effects the optic nerve or damages the retina, typically due to a build up of “intraocular” pressure within your eye. During the study, the participants were polled repeatedly on how many caffeinated beverages they had daily. Then, they were asked questions regarding their vision. Each participant in the study was then given an eye exam which also checked intraocular pressure.
Findings show that generally speaking high amounts of caffeine aren’t directly associated with intraocular pressure. However if you’re in the group with the highest genetic disposition to glaucoma there may be an issue. If you have the genetic disposition and consume close to 480 milligrams of caffeine a day, which is about 4 cups worth, caffeine will effect your risk for glaucoma.