The Good News: Scientists have discovered that coffee can help protect the brain against Alzheimer's disease.
Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Center researcher (and coffee lover) Gary Arendash and colleagues discovered that 500 mg of caffeine can ward off Alzheimer's:
They've found that adding caffeinated water to rodents' diet results in big improvements. The mice perform better on short-term memory and thinking tests. But only if they get enough caffeine.
"The human equivalent of two to three cups of coffee does not have benefits in our Alzheimer's mice," says Arendash.
Arendash's team also documented that these super-caffeinated mice end up with about a 50-percent reduction in abnormal amyloid proteins, which are thought to play an important role in the development of Alzheimer's.
The typical American drinks about a cup and a half of coffee a day. "So you can see that many of us are below that threshold level that we believe confers protective benefits," says Arendash.
Allison Aubrey of NPR explains: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128110552
The Bad News: You may have to wear this T-shirt below.
On the other hand, maybe those chocolate covered coffee beans that I eat can offer some protection from Alzheimer's. And I don't mind eating a few more beans each day if it will help.