According to a recent study carried out by The University of North Dakota, coffee may help to cut the risk of dementia by blocking the damage cholesterol can inflict on the body. Caffeine is a safe and widely used drug and its safety profile is excellent. Its proven ability to stabilize the blood brain barrier means it could have an important part to play in therapies designed to combat neurological disorders.
It is substantially more than just a mere “pick me up” beverage; it is “brain food” with substantial bells and whistles on. A Harvard study, for example, found that coffee drinkers had one-third the Parkinson’s disease risk of non-coffee drinkers.
Similarly, a study published in Annals of Neurology, which looked at more than 47,000 men and 88,000 women, concluded that subjects who drank 1-3 cups of coffee a day had a decreased risk of developing Parkinson’s disease. A 20 year European study, meanwhile, found that caffeine intake was associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
“Middle-aged people who drank between three and five cups of coffee a day lowered their risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease by between 60 and 65 percent later in life,” said Miia Kivipelto, a professor at the University of Kuopio in Finland and at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.
On the basis of the encouraging research outlined, individuals experiencing the very first stages of Alzheimer’s should perhaps be encouraged to discuss the potential benefits of daily coffee consumption with their primary care medical practitioner, for the reported benefits would seem to clearly outweigh the generally minimal side effects.
Coffee, then, is safe and cheap AND it may help to delay the onset of brain dementia, plus it tastes yummy with a chocolate Hobnob® too.In conclusion, if it is safe and proper for you to do so, give a cup of coffee a creamy whirl – it offers a lot and yet it only costs the same as a cup of coffee a day.
Tags: annals of neurology, karolinska institute in stockholm