Drink coffee, remember your loved ones
A new study from the Journal of Neuroinflammation looked at the ability of caffeine to block serum cholesterol from entering the brain. The blood brain barrier is a membrane which prevents all but the smallest molecules from entering into the blood supply of the brain. This barrier helps protect the brain from infections and various toxins circulating in the blood stream.
One theory of the cause of Alzheimer’s disease is that it is associated with a breakdown in the blood brain barrier. This breakdown allows larger substances such as amyloid beta and other potentially harmful particles to enter and accumulate in the brain. The experiment looked at how the caffeine equivalent of about 1 cup of coffee a day is able to prevent damage to the blood brain barrier caused by a high cholesterol diet. The study was done with rabbits, not humans, but the blood brain barrier is something that evolved in all mammals so you would expect things to work the same for us.
In my opinion, coffee is the best delivery vehicle for caffeine because it also has some good antioxidants such as chlorogenic acid which have been shown to slow the release of glucose into the bloodstream after a meal. However, if you can’t stand the taste of coffee or don’t want to pay Starbucks prices, you can always just swallow a pill. Caffeine is pretty much a commodity so you might as well shop for the cheapest caffeine tablets you can find.
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6 comments
Now i feel doomed to get alzheimer’s since caffeine makes me sick! Maybe a drop of green tea extract would be enough? Fingers crossed. =)
This is very interesting. While I’m certainly no expert on the subject, I always thought coffee was somewhat bad for you. I’ve always enjoyed the taste of coffee so I guess I can feel less bad about having a cup now, thanks!
Coffee is good for you, coffee is bad for you… wait, now it’s good again. So which is it? It’s confusing to make choices when you are constantly bombarded with mixed messages. And now there are caffeine tabs? Starting to sound like a drug… again.
Incredibly interesting. I always thought caffeine wouldn’t have any positive effects because of the drop you experience after your caffeine buzz fades. Maybe I’ll start drinking coffee now and then or just invest in the tablets, I guess either option is good.
Surely there’ve been some new findings in the nutrition research. Nutritologist, where are you? We miss your enlightening facts and studies. You kept us on our toes, and now… we’ve all gone back to our bad old habits. Where’s the love?
Would the caffeine in tea be just as effective?
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