Newsletter #169: Coffee and Brain Health ☕
Good morning, humanOS friends! This week, we came back to a subject that is near and dear to our hearts (and probably yours as well): coffee.
Specifically, we came across some interesting research exploring the long-term impact of coffee consumption on cognitive function and risk of dementia, and the results are pretty encouraging for those of us who regularly partake. It is worth remembering, of course, that this kind of observational research has to be interpreted with a grain of salt, since coffee drinkers may be different from people who abstain in other ways that don’t directly emanate from their beverage preferences (this is known as residual confounding). For example, people who avoid coffee may be more likely to have a medical condition that independently increases their risk of cognitive decline (such as high blood pressure).
However, coffee is rich in bioactive compounds that are thought to be neuroprotective, so this link is biologically plausible. For instance, compounds in coffee beans called phenylindanes, which emerge during the roasting process, appear to interfere with aggregation of beta amyloid and tau - a key process in the development of Alzheimer’s.
And at the very least, it does look like drinking coffee isn’t a bad thing for your brain health. To learn more, scroll on down 👇🏼
This Week’s Research Highlights
🧠 Coffee consumption is associated with better cognition in older adults.
Researchers analyzed data on coffee consumption and total dietary caffeine intake in a population of elderly overweight/obese adults with metabolic syndrome. Subjects completed the Mini-Mental State Examination test (MMSE) or a battery of neuropsychological tests to assess their cognitive function. Coffee consumption as well as total dietary caffeine intake were both associated with better cognitive functioning. Subjects who consumed 1-2 servings/day and >2 servings/day of caffeinated coffee had 37% and 46% lower odds of cognitive impairment respectively, compared to those who consumed <1 serving daily. Associations were not observed for decaffeinated coffee.
☕️ Moderate coffee consumption at midlife is associated with lower risk of dementia later in life.
Researchers examined data from 1409 individuals who were followed for an average of 21 years. Subjects completed an exhaustive questionnaire on health-related behaviors, including whether and how much they drank coffee. Participants who regularly consumed coffee at midlife (mean age of 50.4 years) had a lower risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s later in life, compared to those who drank little to no coffee, after adjusting for demographic, lifestyle, and genetic factors. The lowest risk was found in those who drank 3-5 cups per day, who showed a 65% reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s or dementia.
☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️+ However, too much coffee may be linked to greater risk of dementia.
In the largest study of its kind, researchers from the University of South Australia assessed the effects of habitual coffee consumption on brain volume and on the odds of dementia among 17,702 UK Biobank participants (aged 37-73). They found that participants who drank more than six cups of coffee a day had a 53% increased risk of dementia, compared to 1-2 cups per day. This finding does have to be interpreted with a bit of caution: just as people who don’t drink coffee at all may be fundamentally different from those who do consume it, drinking a ton of coffee may be linked to other risk factors. For example, in the CAIDE study, they found that people who drank more than 5 cups of coffee per day had higher cholesterol values and were more likely to be smokers, compared to those who didn’t drink as much.
Random Trivia Question of the Week
🤔 What country consumes the most coffee per capita?
💡 Answer
Podcasts We Loved This Week
- Alan Flanagan & Danny Lennon: Coffee & health. Via Sigma Nutrition.
- Sy Montgomery: How octopuses upend what we know about ourselves. Via Ezra Klein.
Products We Are Enjoying
French Press
This press is an easy and inexpensive way to make coffee or loose teas, without taking up too much counter space. Also looks pretty cool. 😎
humanOS Catalog Feature of the Week
How-to Guide - Smart Daily Light
This week, we’d like to highlight our How-to Guide for Smart Daily Light. We evolved in the presence of natural daily cycles of light and darkness. But obviously, the invention of artificial lighting means that we can now fully control when and how much light we’re exposed to, which has altered this relationship. Today, most of us spend the majority of the day indoors, under comparatively dim artificial lights. Then, after sundown, we are exposed to more bright light, and importantly more blue light due to our digital devices. Consequently, we are getting less bright light during the day and less darkness at night.
This is important because light sends crucial signals to the body, and the intensity and timing of this light matters for your health as well as your performance. But fortunately, there is a lot you can do about it. In this guide, we discuss how you can achieve a pattern of natural light and darkness in the modern world by adjusting behavior, modifying your indoor spaces, configuring your devices, and more.
Thanks for reading, and see y'all next week! ☕