Coffee for your brain
I started drinking coffee when I was in high school. Back then, it was either instant coffee or percolator coffee. One Christmas when I was in college, my parents gifted me a coffee grinder and Melitta drip coffee pot and ceramic filter holder. That’s what I’ve used ever since.
Turns out, it was a health addiction.
“Moderate daily consumption of caffeinated coffee or tea was tied to reduced dementia risk and better cognitive function over time, a prospective study of health professionals showed.
“Over a median follow-up of 36.8 years, health professionals in the highest quartile of coffee drinking had an 18% lower risk of dementia compared with those in the lowest quartile (HR 0.82, 95% CI 0.76-0.89, P<0.001), reported Dong Wang, MD, ScD, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and colleagues.
“Top coffee drinkers also showed a reduced prevalence of subjective cognitive decline (prevalence ratio 0.85, 95% CI 0.78-0.93, P<0.001) and modestly better cognitive performance, the researchers said in JAMA.”
Does this apply to healthy folks, or is the benefit mainly protective for people with underlying risk factors.
“Results did not significantly differ across subgroups based on body mass index, smoking status, APOE4 genotype, or Alzheimer’s disease polygenic risk scores.
Daily Coffee Tied to Brain Benefits, MedPage Today
I’ve been asking a Melitta-type coffee system for more than 50 years. I drip directly into the mug and use pre-ground coffee. It’s fast, efficient, tasty, and cheap. Used coffee beans and filters go directly into the compost bin. Cleaning consists of rinsing off the ceramic filter holder.
I smile every time I go past Starbucks and see cars lined up to pay at least $4-5 for their daily fix. I figure I save at least $1500 per year over these wastrels.
I’m sure Joel will commend me for my wisdom and good judgement not just in matters coffee-related but also in the many topics discussed here…totally due to my coffee habit!
High-and Low-Fat Dairy Consumption and Long-Term Risk of Dementia
Evidence From a 25-Year Prospective Cohort Study
Yufeng Du, et. al.
Neurology ® 2026;106:e214343. doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000214343
“Consumption of ≥50 g/d of high-fat cheese (>20% fat) was associated with a reduced risk of all-
cause dementia”
As Wallace would say: “Eat more cheese”.
High- and Low-Fat Dairy Consumption and Long-Term Risk of Dementia
I am sending this great news to all my friends and relatives right now.
I am a 2-3 espresso/day person, that probably doesn’t get me close to the top 25% of coffee drinkers – IIRC an espresso (single shot) has about 2/3 the caffeine of a single cup of coffee. I’ll have to try harder!!!
@John,
The biggest benefits are seen in the 1-2 cup range. More than that yields only incremental benefits.
@dave,
Whenever I read articles about purported benefits of certain foods, I ask myself to what extent is that attributable to the food vs supplanting calories from other sources. For example, consumption of processed red meat is associated with increased dementia risk. So if cheese is replacing processed red meat, the benefit could come as a result of reduced meat consumption.
Joel:
~3 cups in the morning. None later. Some cheese. Not pigging out on it or fatty meat.