Reader Chuck used this website's website to contact me on July 16, 2025 and asked:
Professor, today's lens login "I love drinking 'this kind of coffee' in the morning and may be blind! Expert: The risk of yellow spot degeneration is 7 times higher." The original text comes from a report published this year, which is difficult for those who love instant coffee. Should the professor express his opinion on this? Thank you for helping solve your doubts.Reader Mr. Lu also used this website to contact me on July 28, 2025 to inquire:
Hello Professor Lin. Recently, he saw the relevant news that "the latest research has found that instant coffee may increase the risk of dry elderly yellow spot disease by about 7 times!?". Two doctors in Taiwan expressed their views on the topic. Dr. Liu xx: Researchers recommend that this may be related to harmful substances such as "acrylamide" or "saccharified end products (AGEs)" produced during instant coffee. These ingredients can promote the oxidative pressure of the Internet membrane and chronic inflammation, which can lead to cell degeneration. Dr. Zhang xx: Research and analysis suggests that this may be related to the preparation of instant coffee: Contains a higher concentration of acrylamide: Water-soluble acrylamide is a potential 2A carcinogen. The more instant coffee that is roasted and soaked in the early stage, the more acrylamide it will dissolve. I would like to ask the professor, is instant coffee a big move or is it really good to drink less?Reader Mr. Wang used this website to contact me on July 29, 2025:
, Professor, because I drink a cup of instant coffee every day, but I saw that " " was published in "Food Science &" in 2025; The latest research in the journal Nutrition pointed out that people who are engaging in instant coffee have a risk of dry yellow spot disease that is nearly 7 times higher than ordinary people " "This report is equivalent to instant coffee, which is not good for yellow spots. Don't drink instant coffee or a cup of one a day.Have you seen the last question from reader Mr. Wang, "Or is it good to have a cup a day?"
It is obvious that Mr. Wang, the reader, is more scientifically fertile than doctors Liu xx and doctors Zhang xx.
I have repeatedly quoted the famous sayings of Paracelsus, the father of toxicology, in many articles. Only the dose makes the poison. The famous saying means "dose determines toxicity", and a more detailed explanation is "no matter what chemical substance is, as long as the dose is large, it is poisonous, and as long as the dose is small, it is not poisonous."
So, does the coffee study discussed by Dr. Liu and Dr. Zhang xx discuss "dose"?
This coffee study is the Genetic Correlation and Mendelian Randomization Analyses Support Causal Relationships Between Instant Coffee and Age-Related Macular Degeneration published on June 14, 2025.
This study was analyzing data in the database to obtain "instant-soluble coffee increases the risk of dry elderly yellow spot disease by 6.92 times." However, it did not say from the beginning to the end that it would cause such high risk.
In fact, there was a paper two years ago (2023-2-27) that also explored "the potential impact of coffee on the cystic nerves of yellow spots". Its title is Consumption of Coffee and Tea Is Associated with Macular Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness: Results from the UK Biobank (research results show that coffee and tea intake are related to the thickness of the yellow spot neural fiber layer).
This study also analyzes the data in the database, and it divides coffee drinkers into 4 groups. The first group is to not drink coffee, the second group is to drink 0.5 to 1 cup a day, the third group is to drink 2 to 3 cups a day, and the fourth group is to drink 4 cups or more a day. As a result, coffee ingestion is related to the increase in thickness of the yellow-spotted video network neural fiber, especially among people who drink 2-3 cups of coffee a day, which is more significant.
Therefore, this earlier study clearly pointed out that "dose" determines the potential impact of coffee on yellow-spotted video network neural fibers. Unfortunately, this article that attracted a lot of attention this year did not mention the key element of "dose".
Also, however, this study provides data on "doses", but it still does not say what "instant-soluble coffee" is. You should know that "instant-soluble coffee" is a wide variety, some are the so-called three-in-one, and some are the so-called "black instant-soluble coffee" (no sugar, no creamer), not to mention what it is Arabic, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Brazilian, southern, and northern …….
In the case of such complex factors, coupled with the analysis of the database produced by questionnaire surveys, how can we expect it to help us provide a clear health guide?
This article has been published for nearly two months. Have you seen the US FDA issue a warning? Have you seen the American Ophthalmology Association release updated guidelines?
For now, this article just provides a slutty topic to the media and social platforms. For example, weren’t the two doctors earning more points because of this? As for the acrylamide they mentioned, then let me worry. Read three related articles I published to see if they are true or false:
Coffee causes cancer, gold?
Coffee causes cancer, but behind the scenes
Coffee causes cancer? California reverse
As for the questions asked by readers Mr. Wu and Mr. Wang, "Is it better to drink less?", "or one cup a day is better", I can only provide our personal opinions based on the current limited scientific evidence: (1) Change as much as possible to drink coffee ground and soaked with coffee beans, (2) Choose "black coffee" without sugar and creamer as much as possible, whether it is instantly dissolved or ground, (3) It is best not to exceed 3 cups per day.
Original text: Instant-soluble coffee increases the risk of senile yellow spot disease by 7 times?Responsible editor: Gu Zihuan