Do black goji berries cure cataracts or vitreous degeneration? No, that's not true: The Royal College of Ophthalmologists of Thailand said drinking black goji berry tea cannot prevent or treat cataracts or vitreous degeneration. There is no study about it.
The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on TikTok on January 6, 2024. The caption (translated from Thai into English by Lead Stories staff) is:
Let black goji berries heal cataract, vitreous degeneration and macular degeneration.
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Thu Feb 22 07:14:22 2024 UTC)
The creator said in the video that black goji berries tea could help reduce the risk of cataracts and relieve both cataracts and vitreous degeneration. She suggested mixing one spoon of black goji berries in water and drinking it every day to heal and improve vision and eye health.
Dr. Sakchai Vonkittirux, an ophthalmologist and a member of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists of Thailand (archived here), told Lead Stories in a phone call on February 21, 2024, that there is no scientific proof that either black or red goji berries can treat eye diseases including cataracts (archived here), vitreous degeneration (archived here) and macular degeneration (archived here).
He explained that the necessary nutrients for eyes -- vitamin A, lutein and zeaxanthin -- can be found in daily meals. The amount of these nutrients consumed from food are sufficient without adding supplements.
Lutein and zeaxanthin are not soluble in water, so mixing berries in water would not gain any benefit for eyes from drinking black goji berry tea, he said.
Vonkittirux referred to some studies that found lutein and zeaxanthin can help delay age-related macular degeneration (archived here) in the elderly from the beginning stage to the critical one. But these two nutrients don't benefit those whose eyes are not facing age-related macular degeneration.
