Caffeinated coffee and tea could help protect you against dementia. Even a few daily .
New research shows that daily coffee or tea –– and yes, the caffeinated kind –– is associated with better cognitive health in the long term.
Those who enjoyed two to three cups of coffee or one to two cups of tea a day saw the biggest impact, according to the study published Monday in JAMA.
Dr. Sara Mahdavi, adjunct professor in the department of nutritional sciences at the University of Toronto, in an email. She was not involved in the research. “No one should start drinking coffee solely for brain protection.”People with anxiety, insomnia or heart rhythm conditions or who have had bad reactions to caffeine should be especially cautious, she added.Caffeine might not be the only benefit in drinking coffee and teas.
Coffee, for example, “contains caffeine along with hundreds of bioactive compounds that influence inflammation, glucose metabolism, vascular function, and oxidative stress,” Mahdavi said.The boost that comes from your morning mug might also help you stick to other healthy behaviors, such as getting good nutrition or exercise, he added. It is important not to have your coffee or tea and stop there.
“Regular physical and frequent activity, good sleep hygiene, not smoking, managing blood pressure and diabetes, staying socially engaged, and maintaining overall diet quality which should be mainly made up of whole plant-based foods … remain far more influential than any single beverage,” Mahdavi said via email.
“Coffee is not a substitute for well-established brain healthy behaviors,” she added.
