The caffeine in coffee and tea may be your brain’s best friend!

Drinking coffee and tea can slash your risk of dementia!

It turns out that something you probably already do every single day could help ward off dementia – even Alzheimer’s.

And in a big way!

I’m talking about coffee! More specifically the caffeine in that coffee, something that’s been a past concern related to heart palpitations.

But some new research has made several remarkable discoveries, not only about the brain benefits of caffeine, but whether or not you need to worry about its effects on your heart.

A boost for your brain

If you remember that old tune, the “Java Jive,” then you’ll know the beginning goes like this: “I love coffee, I love tea.”

Well guess what? It looks like coffee and tea love you back!

A new study led by Dr. Ira Driscoll, a psychology professor at the University of Wisconsin, crunched data on over 6,000 women 65 and older who regularly drank caffeinated beverages. And it turns out that the ones who took in more than 261 milligrams of caffeine a day had almost a 40 percent lower risk of developing dementia!

And that amount of caffeine translates into just two or three standard-size cups of coffee a day. If you’re a tea drinker it’s a little more – at least five cups of black tea daily. And I’m not going to include caffeinated soda here, because everything else about soda will far cancel out any health benefits the caffeine may offer.

Now, while the study is specifically about women, that’s because they used the data from a big women’s study that was done a number of years ago. But there’s nothing to suggest that the findings wouldn’t also apply to men.

Dr. Driscoll also noted that other research has been just as positive about caffeine’s effect on the brain.

For example, research also published this year found that moderate coffee consumption can slash your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease by almost a third. And another study done last year found out that it’s probably caffeine’s effect on the central nervous system that gives it this brain-protecting benefit.

Certainly lots of other good news has been coming out about coffee lately, such as how regular drinkers have a lower risk of diabetes and Parkinson’s disease. And that’s not to mention the big antioxidant boost you get from a cup of java.

But there have also been questions about caffeine as a cause of heart palpitations. Well, earlier this year a big study of close to 1,400 seniors (with an average age of 72), put that worry to rest once and for all. Researchers didn’t find one shred of evidence connecting drinking coffee and two kinds of heart palpitations — premature ventricular contractions (PVCs), and premature atrial contractions (PACs).

And that research wasn’t just one that asked the participants how they were feeling. All of them wore a portable heart-monitoring device 24 hours a day.

The lead researcher for that study said that his findings should be enough reason for doctors to rethink the warning that caffeinated drinks can disturb heart rhythms. And as an extra surprise, those with a daily coffee habit were found to have lower rates of coronary artery disease.

So, if you enjoy drinking a couple of cups of coffee each day, now you know that may not just be keeping you alert and awake, but protecting your brain as well!

Just remember not to drink coffee or tea too late in the afternoon, as it takes at least four, and up to six hours, for all that caffeine to work its way out of your system.

You should also consider buying organic versions of coffee and tea, as they are two of the most heavily sprayed crops out there. They’re easy to find and don’t cost much more than the conventional varieties.

“Caffeine consumption in older women seems to reduce risk of dementia” October 3, 2016, The Washington Post, washingtonpost.com