That Morning Cup of Ambition May Reverse Symptoms of Alzheimer’s

By Rachel Stockton

Research over the last several years has proven that coffee potentially reduces the risk of a number of diseases. The most recent: a study by the University of South Florida confirmed that the caffeine in three cups of coffee, or 500 mgs daily, may actually reverse cognitive and memory damage caused by Alzheimer’s.  

While a French study several years ago showed that women who drink coffee delay the decline of cognitive ability, researcher Gary Arendash, a neuroscientist with the university, emphasized that the current study is the first to suggest that caffeine can actually undo some of the damage brought about by Alzheimer’s.

For the study, 55 mice with Alzheimer’s attributes were divided into two groups: the first had caffeine added to their water, the second group drank water only. After two months, the caffeine group showed better thinking and memory skills than the “water only” mice.  

This latest study, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, adds to the already impressive benefits list of coffee. In May 2006, the results of an Norwegian study determined that women who consume 1-3 cups of coffee per day reduce their cardiovascular risk by 24%. That same year, the Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported that coffee dampens inflammation, which is a marker for a multitude of varied illnesses, such as cirrhosis of the liver, osteoarthritis and cardiovascular disease.

The caffeine in coffee also can serve as a mild pain reliever by releasing the body’s natural, pain killing endorphins in the brain. Prevention.com suggests that patients who experience discomfort from arthritis during exercise should drink a cup or two of coffee 30 minutes to an hour before working out.  

While all of this is certainly good news for those of us who feel we cannot function without that first cup in the morning, alas, when it comes to coffee, there is at work an eternal truism: the law of diminishing returns. The aforementioned Norwegian study found that after the sixth cup of coffee, health benefits attributable to the brew are nil.