We all love our morning grounded coffee! Most of us can’t start the day without it. Coffee has several health benefits, such as reduced cognitive decline, improved liver health, and a lower risk of death. Coffee consumption decreased retinal vessel diameter in certain eye parts two hours after consumption. Coffee decreases cerebral blood flow.
CAFFEINE AND EYE PRESSURE SUMMARY
- There has been mixed research on caffeine and eye pressure.
- Coffee consumption decreased retinal vessel diameter in certain eye parts two hours after consumption.
- Coffee decreases cerebral blood flow.
Introduction
We all love our morning grounded coffee! Most of us can’t start the day without it. Coffee has several health benefits, such as reduced cognitive decline, improved liver health, and a lower risk of death.(Gardener et al., 2021; Kositamongkol et al., 2021; Liu et al., 2022)
In the diet genre, many people use black coffee and caffeine beverages while fasting to help keep their energy sustained while trying to lose body weight. Coffee is a huge benefit for those using intermittent fasting for weight loss. Commonly asked questions regarding coffee and intermittent fasting are:
Q: Can I drink coffee with Stevia while fasting?
A: Stevia has no calories and will have very few metabolic changes. Moderate amounts of stevia are ok while fasting.
Q: What are the best coffee creamers for intermittent fasting?
A: A small amount of creamer is acceptable, but the more creamer you add to your coffee, the more calories you add to your diet. There are no differences between intermittent fasting and calorie-controlled diets for weight loss. You should be concerned about total calories, so a small amount of creamer will not have a meaningful effect.
I have written several articles on how caffeine affects performance and the benefits of drinking coffee before working out. The International Society of Sports Nutrition has documented the pros and cons of drinking coffee before a workout.
Many people have debated using coffee vs. a pre-workout caffeinated beverage for performance, but both are equally effective. The pros of caffeine are enhanced focus, performance, and increased fat burning. The drawbacks of too much caffeine are insomnia, addiction, and anxiety. A new study has found that coffee may contribute to worsening eye health.
CAFFEINE AND EYE PRESSURE
Some people have reported excessive coffee, and energy drinks cause vision disturbances such as eye twitching and blurred vision (i.e., caffeine vision disturbances). High-dose caffeine consumption is associated with glaucoma. (Kim et al., 2021) However, more research is needed on caffeine and eye health.
Studies have reported conflicting results on eye blood flow and caffeine intake. Studies have reported both increases and decrease in blood flow intake. (Karti et al., 2019; Noguchi et al., 2015; Tesselaar et al., 2017) The eye microvasculature is sensitive to pressure and free radical damage; this is why diabetics often suffer eye damage (i.e., diabetic retinopathy). (Newman et al., 2018)
Researchers from China examined the effect of coffee consumption, eye pressure, and retinal parameters related to blood vessels in the eyes. All the subjects in the study were regular coffee consumers (<2.5 cups per day) and were assigned to drink coffee one day, and another day they just drank water. The subjects were placed in an MRI machine to measure the changes.
RESULTS
The study found that coffee consumption decreased retinal vessel diameter in certain parts of the eye two hours after consumption. Interestingly, there were no changes in heart rate. The study authors referenced that caffeine is an adenosine receptor antagonist. Adenose is a potent vasodilator (i.e., it increases blood flow). (Schwabe et al., 1985)
CAFFEINE AND EYE PRESSURE STUDIES
The same research group previously reported that 200 mg of caffeine pills acutely decreased eye vessel diameter and was related to blood pressure increases. (Terai et al., 2012) A decrease in blood supply can affect the retina and optic nerve, which can be problematic for glaucoma patients. Thus, caffeine can cause vision disturbances.
The researchers also found that cerebral blood flow (i.e., blood flow to the brain) and retina-choroid blood flow (i.e., blood flow to the eyes) increased, meaning more pressure on the eye. There were no changes in the water group’s cerebral and retina-choroid blood flow. (Zhu et al., 2022)
This should raise awareness of the potential consequences of high caffeine intake and eye health. Many people in various forums have asked, “can energy drinks cause eye problems?” Many energy drink consumers have talked about blurry vision after energy drink consumption. The study raises awareness of caffeine related vision disturbances.
There needs to be more research on the long-term effects of caffeine and vision disturbances related to eye-related blood flow. Still, the preliminary research should raise awareness about the potential health hazards of high caffeine intake and eye disorders.
REFERENCES
Gardener, S. L., Rainey-Smith, S. R., Villemagne, V. L., Fripp, J., Doré, V., Bourgeat, P., Taddei, K., Fowler, C., Masters, C. L., Maruff, P., Rowe, C. C., Ames, D., & Martins, R. N. (2021). Higher Coffee Consumption Is Associated With Slower Cognitive Decline and Less Cerebral Aβ-Amyloid Accumulation Over 126 Months: Data From the Australian Imaging, Biomarkers, and Lifestyle Study. Front Aging Neurosci, 13, 744872. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2021.744872
Karti, O., Zengin, M. O., Kerci, S. G., Ayhan, Z., & Kusbeci, T. (2019). ACUTE EFFECT OF CAFFEINE ON MACULAR MICROCIRCULATION IN HEALTHY SUBJECTS: An Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography Study. Retina, 39(5), 964-971. https://doi.org/10.1097/iae.0000000000002058
Kim, J., Aschard, H., Kang, J. H., Lentjes, M. A. H., Do, R., Wiggs, J. L., Khawaja, A. P., & Pasquale, L. R. (2021). Intraocular Pressure, Glaucoma, and Dietary Caffeine Consumption: A Gene-Diet Interaction Study from the UK Biobank. Ophthalmology, 128(6), 866-876. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ophtha.2020.12.009
Kositamongkol, C., Kanchanasurakit, S., Auttamalang, C., Inchai, N., Kabkaew, T., Kitpark, S., Chaiyakunapruk, N., Duangjai, A., Saokaew, S., & Phisalprapa, P. (2021). Coffee Consumption and Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: An Umbrella Review and a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Front Pharmacol, 12, 786596. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2021.786596
REFERENCES
Liu, D., Li, Z. H., Shen, D., Zhang, P. D., Song, W. Q., Zhang, W. T., Huang, Q. M., Chen, P. L., Zhang, X. R., & Mao, C. (2022). Association of Sugar-Sweetened, Artificially Sweetened, and Unsweetened Coffee Consumption With All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality : A Large Prospective Cohort Study. Ann Intern Med, 175(7), 909-917. https://doi.org/10.7326/m21-2977
Newman, A., Andrew, N., & Casson, R. (2018). Review of the association between retinal microvascular characteristics and eye disease. Clin Exp Ophthalmol, 46(5), 531-552. https://doi.org/10.1111/ceo.13119
Noguchi, K., Matsuzaki, T., Sakanashi, M., Hamadate, N., Uchida, T., Kina-Tanada, M., Kubota, H., Nakasone, J., Sakanashi, M., Ueda, S., Masuzaki, H., Ishiuchi, S., Ohya, Y., & Tsutsui, M. (2015). Effect of caffeine contained in a cup of coffee on microvascular function in healthy subjects. J Pharmacol Sci, 127(2), 217-222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphs.2015.01.003
Schwabe, U., Ukena, D., & Lohse, M. J. (1985). Xanthine derivatives as antagonists at A1 and A2 adenosine receptors. Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol, 330(3), 212-221. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00572436
Terai, N., Spoerl, E., Pillunat, L. E., & Stodtmeister, R. (2012). The effect of caffeine on retinal vessel diameter in young healthy subjects. Acta Ophthalmol, 90(7), e524-528. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1755-3768.2012.02486.x
REFERENCES
Tesselaar, E., Nezirevic Dernroth, D., & Farnebo, S. (2017). Acute effects of coffee on skin blood flow and microvascular function. Microvasc Res, 114, 58-64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mvr.2017.06.006
Zhu, X., Zhu, J., Wang, Y., Chu, Z., Wang, R. K., Xu, Y., Lu, L., & Zou, H. (2022). A moderate dosage of coffee causes acute retinal capillary perfusion decrease in healthy young individuals. BMC Ophthalmol, 22(1), 460. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12886-022-02638-x
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