Can Coffee Keep Your Mind Sharp?

By on April 6, 2010 in Healthy Living

 Q: I heard that drinking three or more cups of coffee daily helps older women avoid declining memory but that men get no such benefit. Why not?

A: You’re referring to a study from France, which showed that women who drank three or more cups of coffee daily were 30 percent less likely to have memory problems at age 65 than women who drank a single cup of coffee or less. The study, published in the August 7, 2007 issue of Neurology, found that the benefit of drinking coffee increased with age: memory decline among women over 80 who drank three cups or more daily was about 70 percent less likely than it was among those who drank one cup or less. You can get the same effect from tea – but this study found that you would have to drink about two cups of tea for every one of coffee.

The researchers said that the caffeine in coffee (and tea) acts as a cognitive stimulant and also helps reduce levels of beta amyloid protein in the brain. Accumulations of this protein underlie Alzheimer’s disease. More than 7,000 men and women recruited in three cities in France participated in the study. None had dementia at the outset; the researchers retested the participants’ cognitive performance two and four years later.

While men didn’t benefit from coffee drinking in the French study, an earlier one that tracked 676 healthy, older men in Finland, the Netherlands and Italy for 10 years found that the coffee drinkers there had lower rates of age-related cognitive decline than men who didn’t drink coffee. Here, too, maximum protection was seen in men who drank three cups a day. That study was published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition in August, 2006.

 Originally posted on DrWeil.com.

PHOTO (cc): Flickr / ladislav





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About andrew.weil

Andrew Weil, MD, has devoted the past 30 years to developing, teaching, and educating others on the principles of integrative medicine. Weil is an internationally recognized expert on integrative medicine, medicinal herbs and mind-body interactions. The founder of Weil Lifestyle, LLC, a leading resource for integrative medicine education, information, products, and services, Weil combines a Harvard education and a lifetime of practicing integrative medicine to provide a unique approach to health care which encompasses body, mind, and spirit. Weil donates all of his after-tax profits from Weil Lifestyle products to the Weil Foundation, an organization dedicated to sustaining the vision of integrative medicine. This independent non-profit organization is committed to changing the training and practice of health care professionals; educating the public about health, healing, and nutrition; reforming public policies governing health and health care; and researching the application of integrative medicine. He is a clinical professor of internal medicine and the founder and director of the Program in Integrative Medicine (PIM) at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Weil received both his medical degree and his undergraduate AB degree in biology (botany) from Harvard University. PIM, founded by Weil in 1994 at the University of Arizona, was established to train physicians to be integrative medicine practitioners. PIM’s overriding mission is to foster the transformation of health care through innovative educational programs, rigorous scientific studies, and exceptional clinical care that integrates biomedicine, the complexity of human beings, and the healing power of nature. The program features a broad range of comprehensive fellowship training programs, a clinic, and an NIH supported research group. Through PIM, Weil hopes to grow and strengthen integrative medicine within the health care community at large. Weil is also a best-selling author and editorial director of DrWeil.com, an online resource for healthy living based on an integrative medicine philosophy. Weil’s books include the national bestsellers Spontaneous Healing, 8 Weeks to Optimum Health, Eating Well for Optimum Health, and The Healthy Kitchen. He also authors the popular Self Healing newsletter and a monthly column for Prevention magazine. As a frequent guest on Larry King Live and Oprah, Weil provides information and insight on how to incorporate conventional and complementary medicine practices in one’s life to optimize the body’s natural healing mechanisms.
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5 Responses to Can Coffee Keep Your Mind Sharp?

  1. beachgirl April 6, 2010 at 4:37 pm #

    Thank you for clearly setting out the increased mental health benefits of drinking coffee as one ages…! beachgirl

  2. yumi April 7, 2010 at 8:52 am #

    I love coffee. This is good to know! :D

  3. Kristen Thurman April 7, 2010 at 9:05 am #

    Oh goodie! A comparative analysis of the risks and benfits of coffee vs green tea would be interesting. I'd been considering making a switch…

  4. SALADINAUGUSTO April 8, 2010 at 6:57 pm #

    GREEN tea!!!!!

  5. ChiAnnie April 8, 2010 at 7:36 pm #

    I really enjoy Orange Blossom green tea from Starbucks. Yum! ~ Annie