There is a way to drink coffee that is extremely good for the brain.

Research recently published in the biomedical journal American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has shown how enjoying coffee can bring significant benefits to the brain in older adults: Reducing the risk of Alzheimer's disease, dementia and Parkinson's disease, according to science news site Psypost.

Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases are the most common neurodegenerative disorders and are among the leading causes of disability and dependence in older adults.

Coffee has many health benefits

Photo: AI

What does science say about the effects of coffee?

Researchers from Wannan Medical School, Wuhu, in collaboration with experts from Tongji Medical School, Huazhong University of Science and Technology and Peking University (China) analyzed data from 204,847 participants from the UK Biobank, aged 40-69.

Participants reported on their food and beverage consumption. Based on their coffee intake, they were divided into four groups:

• No coffee drinkers: 24%, usually prefer tea.
• Drinking coffee without sugar: 54%.
• Drinking coffee with sugar: 16%.
• Drinking coffee with artificial sweeteners: 7%.

The results found that drinking unsweetened coffee reduced the risk of Alzheimer's disease, related dementias and Parkinson's disease, and also reduced related mortality, helping to prolong life.

Specifically, people who drink unsweetened coffee have reduced their risk of getting the above diseases by 29 - 30%. Notably, they also reduced their risk of dying from these diseases by 43%, compared to people who do not drink coffee, according to Psypost.

In contrast, people who drank coffee with sugar or artificial sweeteners did not have a reduced risk of the above diseases or deaths.

Drinking coffee without sugar is very good for the elderly.

Photo: AI

Even for decaffeinated coffee, drinking it without sugar was associated with a 34–37% lower risk of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease and a 47% lower risk of related death compared to not drinking coffee. However, adding sugar or artificial sweeteners to this coffee had no effect.

The authors concluded: The study found that consumption of unsweetened, caffeinated coffee significantly reduced the risk of Alzheimer's disease, related dementias, and Parkinson's disease, as well as associated mortality.

This underscores an important public health message: Adding sugar or artificial sweeteners to coffee can be harmful and should be approached with caution. Instead, the recommendation leans toward consuming unsweetened coffee.

To reap the maximum benefits, it is best to consume 2-3 cups of coffee per day. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends consuming no more than 4 cups of coffee per day.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/co-1-cach-uong-ca-phe-cuc-tot-cho-nao-185250421223552431.htm