Two Cups Of Coffee A Day Can Protect Brain Against Alzheimer's: Study

Consuming up to two cups of coffee a day is better for the brain than avoiding the world's most popular beverage, a new study claims.

According to the study which was published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, consuming one to two cups of coffee a day can protect the brain from mild cognitive impairment (MCI), the first sign of Alzheimer's disease. Consuming more than two cups over time or not consuming coffee could increase the risk, the study claimed.

"These findings from the Italian Longitudinal Study on Aging suggested that cognitively normal older individuals who never or rarely consumed coffee and those who increased their coffee consumption habits had a higher risk of developing MCI. Therefore, moderate and regular coffee consumption may have neuroprotective effects also against MCI confirming previous studies on the long-term protective effects of coffee, tea, or caffeine consumption and plasma levels of caffeine against cognitive decline and dementia," said investigators Vincenzo Solfrizzi, and Francesco Panza from the University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy.

For the study, researchers looked at coffee consumption habits of 1,500 Italians aged 65 to 84 years, Daily Mail reports. Researchers found no association between those who had more than two cups compared to those who did not consume coffee in the context of MCI.

The study explained that caffeine in coffee may protect the brain by minimizing damage caused by beta-amyloid, rogue protein plaques in the brain associated with Alzheimer's disease. While moderate doses of caffeine can offer protection, high doses can disrupt memory acquisition.

"More sensitive outcomes such as findings from neuroimaging studies should become available from experimental data, so further explaining the mechanisms underlying the neuroprotective effects of coffee, tea, and caffeine consumption," researchers wrote.