You’ve probably heard it a million times — worsening vision is just a normal part of aging.
But why should we accept that as a fact?
The decline in eyesight can cost you your ability to drive and, eventually, your independence.
You already know how important it is to take care of your eyes, from eating leafy greens to enjoying wild-caught seafood.
But there’s something else you should be eating if you want to protect your eyesight as you age.
It turns out that a cozy winter favorite doesn’t just keep you warm; it can actually help save your vision!
And it may already be in your kitchen.
The answer? Cocoa.
A new study published in the Journal of Functional Foods found that polyphenols are essential for maintaining good eyesight, especially as we age.
And pure cocoa is packed with polyphenols!
Cocoa contains a specific group of polyphenols called flavan-3-ols, as well as phenolic acids and flavanols.
It also has theobromine, a compound similar to caffeine, which can help reduce blood pressure.
These four compounds are powerful antioxidants, which help protect your body from damage caused by free radicals.
You might not realize it, but your retina is the part of the eye where light is turned into vision.
The retina has many blood vessels and requires a lot of oxygen, making it vulnerable to oxidative damage.
This is where the polyphenols in cocoa come in.
They could help stop this oxidative damage, protecting your vision as you age.
In a study with 37 participants, researchers tested three different drinks: cocoa, a red-berry drink, and milk.
Red berries were chosen because they’re known to help protect vision, so the researchers wanted to compare their effects to cocoa’s.
After performing a series of vision tests, the results were clear — the cocoa group had overall better vision.
This shows just how beneficial cocoa can be for your eyes, especially as you age.
To get the benefits of cocoa yourself, consider trying an unsweetened drink blend like CocoVia.
Drinking one serving daily could help protect your vision and even improve it over time.
If you’re curious to learn more about how cocoa can benefit your eye health, you can check out the original study published in the Journal of Functional Foods here.
For additional research on antioxidants and their effects on eyesight, visit this article from Ophthalmology24 and the National Institute of Health.