Drinking Tea Could Preserve Your Vision

Approximately 3 million Americans are affected with glaucoma, making it the leading cause of blindness in the United States. The secret to protecting those peepers could be as simple as having a cup of tea now and then.

Researchers from UCLA found in a recent study that one cup of hot tea per day decreased participants' likelihood of glaucoma by 74 percent.

The study was meant to investigate the effects of caffeine on the likelihood of glaucoma. There has been some back and forth on coffee's effects, with some studies suggesting that the beverage is beneficial and others that it actually increases glaucoma risk. In this study, coffee showed no significant impact on the risk for glaucoma. Hot tea, however, proved effective.

Iced tea, decaffeinated tea, and any kind of soda had no effect on glaucoma risk; hot tea was the only type to make an impact.

"There may be other lifestyle factors with these daily tea drinkers that we're not accounting for here," Anne Coleman, lead researcher of the study, says. The study proves that there is a correlation between hot tea and glaucoma risk, but does not prove that the tea is causing the health benefit.

"This could certainly prompt further research into why this connection may exist," Coleman suggests.

Hot tea isn't the only food or drink that can help your eyes. Carrots, blueberries, and these 18 other foods can also make an impact on your sight as you age.