As we have reported numerous times, drinking coffee has a lot of health benefits from a reduction of the incidence of type II diabetes to less heart disease to reduced incidences of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. Recent evidence from Massachusetts General Brigham show how coffee protects your brain.
Results of Long Term Study of Health, Habits, and Coffee Consumption
An article in Science Daily reports on a study carried out over decades by researchers from Mass General Brigham, and the Broad Institute of MIT, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Harvard University. Two studies include graduate nurses and graduate physicians who have participated in long term assessments of a broad range of health issues, personal habits, diet, exercise, etc. The bottom line result of the study is that drinking a moderate amount of coffee, two to three cups a day, correlated with lower risks of cognitive decline, diagnosed dementia and preservation of higher mental functioning.
Caffeine as a Factor in Cognitive Preservation
We have written previously of the role that antioxidants in coffee appear to play in benefitting health and preserving mental function by reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. In the case of the study in question it appears that caffeine plays a significant role as well. Both coffee and tea consumption produced positive results as noted in the study. The exact amount of improvement was an 18% reduction in mental or cognitive decline in folks who routinely drank a moderate amount of tea or coffee each day. The benefit was not seen in decaf coffee drinkers!
Who Benefits from Drinking Coffee?
The study that has followed tens of thousands of people for more than forty years found that individuals who had a genetic predisposition to dementias such as Alzheimer’s disease benefitted equally with those who had no genetic tendency. The study did not indicate any specific mechanism for the benefit of drinking caffeinated coffee or tea but simply confirmed a clear association.
Do the Benefits of Drinking Coffee Outweigh any Risks?
All of the adverse effects of drinking coffee are “dose related.” If you are prone to acid reflux, gastritis. or ulcers you may suffer more from these conditions if you drink too much coffee, especially on an empty stomach. If your are prone to having a high blood pressure, too much coffee may further elevate your pressure. Some folks get jittery or nervous, again from too much coffee. In each case the adverse effects can be reduced by cutting back on how many cups a day you drink and how strong the coffee is that you consume. None of the unwanted side effects of coffee, however, negate the beneficial effects of coffee over the long term. To the extent that jitteriness or acid reflux are a nuisance you can solve the issue by cutting back on your intake although if your pressure is too high this is one situation where coffee consumption in the near term may conflict with coffee’s long term benefits. A little common sense will go a long way in such cases.