Coffee Can Save Your Brain

Being a coffee drinker, and at risk for Alzheimer’s disease, as are we all, I was heartened by this study appearing in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. The researchers followed 1,409 individuals, aged 65-79, for an average of 21 years. The study also looked at each individual’s dietary habits.

At the end of the study, 48 of the subjects had developed Alzheimer’s disease. And it was shown that the risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease was reduced by an astounding 65% in those who drank 3-5 cups of coffee daily. The authors went so far as to suggest that “this finding might open possibilities for prevention of dementia/Alzheimer’s Disease.”

I’m certain there will be a lot of questions from our readers about the effects of tea, other caffeinated beverages, and whether or not decaffeinated coffee would be of benefit. These ideas were not specifically explored in this study. I will say that coffee, like turmeric, resveratrol, and green tea extract, is a powerful upregulator of Nrf2 activity and as such activates gene pathways to both reduce inflammation as well as antioxidant protection. These are important factors in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease.