We’ve written before at HuffPost UK about how coffee may be associated with better heart health ― but those links were only seen for early drinkers.
Those who consumed moderate amounts of coffee did better than fellow morning coffee drinkers who chugged through three or more mugfuls, too.
And now, research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has suggested that coffee may reduce dementia risk ― but that also has conditions.
The study, which looked at health data from 204,847 participants in the UK Biobank over nine years, found a correlation (but not a causal link) between coffee drinkers and lower dementia risk.
But they wanted to break down the association further, seeking to find out whether the type of coffee (sugar-sweetened, artificially sweetened, unsweetened, caffeinated, or decaffeinated) mattered.
Which coffee seemed to matter most?
The researchers wrote: “Higher intake of caffeinated coffee, particularly the unsweetened variety, was associated with reduced risks of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, and Parkinson’s disease.”
They added that “No such associations were observed for sugar-sweetened or artificially sweetened coffee.”
In other words, it seems that sugar-free caffeinated coffee seemed to produce the links the scientists noticed.
Participants were grouped into five groups according to how many cups of coffee they drank a day (non-drinkers, 0-1, 1-2, 2-3, and 3+).
The last group saw the biggest difference, but all coffee drinkers in the study were at least 34% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease and related diseases, 37% less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease, and 47% less likely to die from a neurodegenerative disease over the course of the study.
Researchers think that caffeine might protect the brain while sugars take away from its benefits, but that’s just speculation. More research would be needed to confirm that.
Still, the authors wrote: “The addition of sugar or artificial sweeteners to coffee may have harmful effects and should be approached cautiously.”
“Instead, the recommendation leans toward the consumption of unsweetened and caffeinated coffee.”
Does that mean drinking caffeinated coffee with no sugar will definitely prevent dementia (or the inverse)?
No. This study only found a link ― it’s an observational study, not, say, a randomised controlled trial.
That means the researchers can only point out that A and B (in this case, unsweetened caffeinated coffee consumption and lower neurodegenerative condition risk) happened at the same time ― not that A caused B.
It’s part of a growing body of research into caffeine and dementia that has shown some promising results, but until we have more data on the link, your best bet is to try to stay on top of the 14 “potentially modifiable” risk factors publications like The Lancet have officially recognised.
These include not smoking, eating healthily, staying active, and avoiding drinking too much alcohol.
