Drinking coffee may reduce Alzheimer's risk

Washington: A new study has demonstrated that drinking 3-5 cups of coffee might help in lowering the risk of Alzheimer's disease by up to 20 percent.

The study showed that the number of people in Europe aged over 65 was predicted to rise from 15.4 percent of the population to 22.4 percent by 2025 and, with an aging population, neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's Disease were of increasing concern.

Epidemiological studies have found that regular, life-long moderate coffee consumption is associated with a reduced risk of developing Alzheimer's Disease with the body of evidence suggesting that coffee drinkers can reduce their risk of developing the disease by up to 20 percent.

According to the study, caffeine helps prevent the formation of amyloid plaques and neurofibrulary tangles in the brain - two hallmarks of Alzheimer's Disease. In addition to this, both caffeine and polyphenols reduce inflammation and decrease the deterioration of brain cells especially in the hippocampus and cortex, areas of the brain involved in memory.

Dr. Arfram Ikram, an assistant professor in neuroepidemiology at Erasmus Medical Centre Rotterdam,said that the majority of human epidemiological studies suggested that regular coffee consumption over a lifetime was associated with a reduced risk of developing Alzheimer's Disease, with an optimum protective effect occurring with three to five cups of coffee per day.