Sharpening Your Memory With Coffee?
One hundredmilligrams of caffeine, the equivalent of two cups of
coffee, can increase activity in the part ofyour brain that is
responsible for short-term memory. A study showed improved
performance on a memory test as a result.
The functions of this region of the brain also include
prioritizing information efficiently, planning new tasks, and
dealing with stored information.
Memory and Attention Brain Regions
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) on a sample of 15
men showed that caffeine increased activity in a brain region in
the frontal lobe (part of the working memory network) and in the
anterior cingulate cortex, which controls attention. When the
men were given a placebo instead, there was no increase in
activity in these areas of the brain.
Quicker Response
When given caffeine, they also demonstrated improved reaction
time on a test involving a randomized sequence of capital
letters, in which they had to decide, as quickly as possible,
whether the current letter was the same as or different from the
letter presented two letters previously.
The mechanism by which the caffeine acts on the brain is largely
unknown, but it may be related to the way the chemical reacts
with the brain's small blood vessels and nerve cells.
Forbes.com November 30, 2005
Dr. Mercola's Comment:There seem to be an increasing number of
studies extolling the virtues of drinking coffee as of late,
including this new one that suggests drinking two cups may be
enough to keep your memory sharp.
Coffee is the most widely used and cheapest drug in the world.
But all the good news aside, drinking coffee is, at best,
problematic, as it can interfere with your body's ability to
keep cholesterol levels in check and increases your risk of
stroke. It is also imperative that you avoid any coffee if you
are pregnant.
And, if you think going decaf is any safer for you, guess again.
Decaffeinated coffee can increase risk factors for
cardiovascular disease.
So if you have the coffee habit it is time to consider
stopping. However, please avoid the mistake that most people
make when deciding to eliminate coffee from their diet. Caffeine
is a drug and if you go off cold turkey you will needlessly
suffer.
I recommend weaning yourself off coffee by cutting down the
amount you drink gradually over a period of days or even weeks.
It's important to drink plenty of water during the process in
order to keep your body well hydrated.
While you're doing that, here are some tips to reduce the
chance of harmful effects until you can completely eliminate
it:- Use organic coffee. Coffee is a heavily
sprayed crop, so drinking organic coffee might reduce or
eliminate your exposure to toxic herbicides, pesticides and
fertilizers.
- Try "Swiss Water Process" decaf. If you
are going to drink decaffeinated coffee, be sure that it uses a
non-chemical based method of decaffeination. The "Swiss Water
Process" is a patented method and is the best choice. Most of
the major brands are chemically decaffeinated, even if it says
"naturally decaffeinated" right on the container.
- Avoid sugar and milk. These are actually much worse for
you than the coffee itself.
- Only use unbleached
filters. If you use a "drip" coffee maker, be sure to use
non-bleached filters. The bright white ones, which most people
use, are chlorine bleached and some of this chlorine will be
extracted from the filter during the brewing process.