Can your local Starbucks barista help you with your Alzheimer's prevention? They indeed try to test our memory by spelling our names wrong. Let's find out!
What Does Coffee Do To Our Brain?
It is all about caffeine; it stimulates our central nervous system, which will make you feel alert; it is the main reason coffee helps your brain function. Caffeine blocks adenosine, which is an inhibitory neurotransmitter and the reason for you feeling drowsy when it is time to go to bed. It builds up during the day. Caffeine may also improve various brain function elements, including mood, reaction time, vigilance and attention.
Can Coffee Help Preventing Alzheimer's And Parkinson's Disease?
Even though more studies are needed to confirm that drinking coffee regularly in moderate amounts is connected to a reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease, it has been linked to a 65% lower risk of getting Alzheimer's.
Studies have also found that coffee may help lower the risk of Parkinson's disease.
Interestingly, an extensive review study showed a 29% lower risk of Parkinson's disease in people who consumed 3 cups of coffee daily. Drinking 5 cups didn't seem to provide many benefits, so there is no need to visit Starbucks for a 4th and 5th time unless your barista is cute, of course.
How To Drink Coffee, The Healthy Way?
As you probably know, if your daily coffee order includes four different types of syrup, double whipped cream, and then you add another two sachets of sugar to it, this likely causes more damage than good.
Here are a couple of tips on how to use coffee wisely:
- Please don't overdo it! Only consume a maximum of 5 cups (400 milligrams of caffeine) daily to avoid potentially dangerous or adverse side effects. But everyone is different, so please check this out with a health professional, especially if you have health issues.
- Avoid processed sugars in your coffee. Of course, most of us like our coffee with sugar and milk. It might be worth experimenting with less processed sugars such as date sugar or date syrup. Try swapping cow's milk with oat milk, for example, or ditching milk altogether for an extra health boost and to help our lovely Mother Earth as well.
- Try to have your last coffee before 3 PM. Caffeine can disrupt your sleep up to six hours after consuming it, leading to an hour or more lost in rest. So you might need to do some testing of when your last coffee should be, to still get that perfect slumber experience.
- If you feel like you have developed a caffeine tolerance, try out ditching coffee for a week and then start again with small amounts. Good luck with surviving that!
The Bottom Line
Don't overdo it, and coffee responsibly! And next time you order a coffee from Starbucks, we are sure your barista will appreciate an extra friendly smile when they hand you your misspelt cup of brown energy juice over.
Fun Fact: This article was written by a (very tired) content creator with a caffeine intolerance #fishingforsympathy.
