Daily caffeine 'protects brain'
Coffee may cut the risk of dementia by blocking the damage cholesterol can inflict on the body, research suggests.
High levels of cholesterol in the blood are believed to make the blood-brain barrier "leaky". Alzheimer's researchers suggest this makes the brain vulnerable to damage which can trigger or contribute to the condition. The amount of caffeine in one cup of coffee a day appears to block many of these disruptive effects.
A study on rabbits fed a fat-rich diet showed that the vital barrier between the brain and the main blood supply was protected in those given a caffeine supplement. After 12 weeks of a high-cholesterol diet, the blood brain barrier in those given caffeine was far more intact than in those given no caffeine.
Coffee has already been linked to a lower risk of Alzheimer's Disease, and now there is a potential explanation why.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7326839.stm
High levels of cholesterol in the blood are believed to make the blood-brain barrier "leaky". Alzheimer's researchers suggest this makes the brain vulnerable to damage which can trigger or contribute to the condition. The amount of caffeine in one cup of coffee a day appears to block many of these disruptive effects.
A study on rabbits fed a fat-rich diet showed that the vital barrier between the brain and the main blood supply was protected in those given a caffeine supplement. After 12 weeks of a high-cholesterol diet, the blood brain barrier in those given caffeine was far more intact than in those given no caffeine.
Coffee has already been linked to a lower risk of Alzheimer's Disease, and now there is a potential explanation why.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7326839.stm
posted by Beth Placette at 1:41 PM
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