The Caffeine-Dementia Link: More Good News About Coffee
Have you ever had the experience of waking up foggy,
drinking a cup of coffee---and literally feeling your brain and your nerve
endings wake up and become alert to the world? I’m almost certain that most, if
not all, coffee-drinkers are familiar with this sensation. The good news is
that coffee not only makes you “smarter” but it also protects the brain from
developing dementia.
I love coffee. Summer is an excellent time to drink coffee,
including iced coffee drinks, as well as reliable hot mugs of coffee. The
important thing is that the benefits remain, regardless of the season. Recently
scientists explored yet another benefit of coffee. It turns out that caffeine
consumption reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
In a study of
adults over age 65 with mild cognitive impairment---generally considered a
precursor to Alzheimer’s disease---those with higher caffeine blood levels
avoided developing Alzheimer’s or at least had delayed progression. Note that
these results are based on 2 to 4 years of follow up.
According to the lead investigator, Dr. Chuanhai Cao, a
neuroscientist at the University of South Florida, “The results from this
study, along with our earlier studies in Alzheimer’s mice are very consistent
in indicating that moderate daily caffeine/coffee intake through adulthood
should appreciably protect against Alzheimer’s disease in later life. “
That is truly groundbreaking news! The truth really does lie
in the data. No one with mild cognitive impairment who went on to develop
Alzheimer’s had initial blood caffeine levels above a critical level of 1,200
ng/mL---equivalent to drinking several cups of a coffee a few hours before
having a blood sample taken. However, 100% of patients with mild cognitive
impairment at the beginning of the study who had caffeine blood plasma levels
about the critical level DID NOT develop Alzheimer’s disease.
The takeaway: Coffee consumption---even moderate
consumption---decreases the risk of Alzheimer’s disease appreciably. That’s
another reason to appreciate coffee---and all of its health benefits…Happy
summer!
Comments
It's too bad that old folks decide to stop learning sometimes. We should found a Coffee/Teach a Senior there's this cool thing called the Internet Day.
If you're not inside you're outside.
Hey, Wicky Nicky, have you gotten your kids hooked up on khanacademy.com yet? It's Jammy, Newest Latest, on the Tip, it's da Hype, learning wise, that is.
(Paraphrasing the Little Dragon)
On tap for tonight is the P.O.A. episode about the sculptor; Bernini. When you watch the episode it is difficult not to dwell on thinking; how in the world did he do this? How did he imagine it? How did he accomplish this pefection of likness to the real?
Hans Bethe, the nobel prize winning Physisist, once said about Richard Feynman; "normally, even with great work, you can imagine that if you tried hard enough you could arrive at the same answers, with Feynman, you just don't know how he does it." "That's just why he's a genius." Bernini ditto.
The Funeral
Tampopo
A Taxing Woman
A Taxing Woman's Return
Minbo
The Supermarket Woman
Woman in the Witness Protection Program
7 nights (or days depending on when someone might show up, and free Kicking Horse Coffee for all) and you're all invited.
Please note;
Be sure to bring your own mug as the most recent explosion/meteor severly depleted our supply.
Although it's a near certainty (is anything truly certain?) that the Institute is located several thousand miles from wherever you are (and against the wind), it just might be worth the trip, assuming you get here before the coffee runs out.
Although, of course, the recent is the more real in one's mind.