Drink This. It Improves Your Memory

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Drink This. It Improves Your Memory

 

Older women who drink more than three cups of coffee daily appear to have

special

protection from some age-related memory decline, according to a study from

researchers

at the French National Institute of Medical Research. Oddly, the protection

doesn't work for

men.

 

" The more coffee one drank, the better the effects seemed to be on memory

functioning in particular, "

said lead researcher Karen Ritchie. Her team followed more than 7,000 men and

women in three cities

in France. In addition to checking their health and mental function, the

researchers asked them about

their current and past eating and drinking habits, their friends and their

daily activities.

 

After analyzing the data, Ritchie concluded that women who drank more than

three cups of coffee a day

or its equivalent in tea retained more of their verbal memories over four

years and to a lesser extent their

visual memories, reports Reuters. Specifically, they had a 33 percent reduced

risk of having verbal memory declines and an 18 percent lower risk of visual

and spatial memory declines, compared to the women who consumed just one cup

or less a day. Age also impacted how well the caffeine worked to preserve

memory. Women who were over 80 had the most benefits.

 

Why is caffeine a memory-protector? Previous research in mice suggests

caffeine might block the buildup

of proteins that lead to mental decline.

 

The researchers are still puzzling over a number of questions, including:

Is it current or former coffee consumption that makes the difference?

Why are women's memories protected by the caffeine but not men's memories?

Will caffeine delay the onset of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease and

other brain disorders?

 

The study findings have been published in the journal Neurology, the medical

journal of the American Academy

of Neurology.

 

--From the Editors at Netscape