Saturday, March 13, 2010

Green Tea Could Prevent Glaucoma


Those who know me know that I'm a big tea drinker. Now, there's yet another reason to drink tea, specifically, the green kind.

NaturalNews.com reports that regular consumption of green tea could prevent glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness.

While early treatment can slow down the disease and loss of vision, there is currently no cure for glaucoma. But researchers have found evidence that the phytochemicals in green tea can prevent glaucoma and other eye diseases from developing.

According to a recently published study in the American Chemical Society's Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, researchers found proof that the lens, retina and other parts of the eye absorb sight-protecting green tea catechins, NaturalNews.com reported.

This is significant news, because until now, scientists weren't sure that the flavonoids, or catechins, in green tea could pass through the gastrointestinal tract to penetrate deep into the tissues of the eye.

Glaucoma is a silent disease, usually causing no warning symptoms until the disease has progressed. As damage to the optic nerve worsens, vision is gradually reduce to tunnel vision, before robbing its victims of sight entirely.

My usual preference is for Darjeeling black tea, but in the summer I often combine black, green and white tea bags in a pitcher of homemade iced tea. And if I need an extra jolt of caffeine in the early afternoon (my drowsy time), I add both black and green tea bags to a single cup of boiling water. That will supply enough caffeine to keep an elephant awake!