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Good News for Coffee Drinkers
This was originally sent in my Sunday morning Strong Wise Good newsletter. If you’d rather receive these thoughts in your inbox each week, subscribe here.
Go ahead, pour yourself another cup
Today I have some oh-so-good news!
Unless you love your Sanka.
Look, if you love your Sanka, keep your Sanka, but... for the rest of us, our morning cup of joe just may be doing more for us than opening our eyes.
My mission is to empower people to achieve real health through real food. Today, let’s talk about the brain connection behind coffee and clarity.
☕ What the study found
A new long-term study published online in JAMA followed more than 130,000 adults for up to 43 years to explore how regular consumption of caffeinated coffee and tea relates to dementia risk and cognitive aging.
Researchers from Mass General Brigham, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard found that:
✅ Drinking two to three cups of caffeinated coffee per day was associated with a lower risk of developing dementia and slower cognitive decline compared with those who drank little or none.
✅ One to two cups of caffeinated tea daily showed a similar protective association with brain health.
❌ Decaffeinated coffee did not show a meaningful link to reduced dementia risk.
Though the study does not prove cause and effect, the results suggest that moderate consumption of caffeinated coffee or tea may support long-term cognitive health.
From the underlying research itself, the analysis also noted that higher caffeinated intake was associated with modestly better cognitive test performance and fewer reports of subjective cognitive decline over time.
You can read an article about this study in The Harvard Gazette here:
☕ Association, Not Causation
This study is observational. It identifies associations, not cause and effect.
It does not prove that caffeine prevents dementia, nor that coffee or tea alone protect the brain.
I can personally promise you this much: caffeine alone does not prevent cognitive decline. I drank plenty of it during the years when my own brain was very much not firing on all cylinders.
It simply shows that, over time, people who consumed moderate amounts of caffeinated coffee or tea had different cognitive outcomes than those who did not.
☕ What Does This Mean for Us?
If you’ve been questioning your coffee habit, maybe wondering whether you should switch to decaf for health reasons, this study is most welcome news.
From a brain health perspective, there is no compelling reason to avoid caffeinated coffee or tea. In fact, the findings suggest that maintaining a moderate habit (roughly two cups per day) may be associated with better cognitive outcomes over time.
Notably, decaffeinated versions showed no similar association.
I only wish my sainted Sanka-fied mother had lived to know this truth!
This isn’t an argument to drink more coffee.
It is permission to stop second-guessing it.
If you enjoy your morning cup... or two.. there is no need to give it up in the name of protecting your brain. According to this research, doing so may actually remove a small but meaningful support.
☀️ Enjoy your cup!
I wish I could say coffee prevents the dementia. It does not. But it might boost brain function, and that is enough for me to stop dithering over whether I should give up one of my greatest pleasures.
What did make a meaningful difference?
What did reverse the worst of my early Alzheimer's symptoms?
Real food.
That's the golden ticket.
I'm Glad You're Here
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Until next time, stay strong, wise, kind, and good.
Choose real food for real health.
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, scientist, or nutritionist. I do not provide medical advice. I share personal experience and ongoing learning about health through real food.
Good morning!
I am a late boomer spreading the gospel of good health through good food.
My bona fides?
Beating back Alzheimer's by eating clean low-carb.
And dropping a little weight effortlessly as a bonus.
Real food for real health.
Join me?
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