When I was a young boy, I wondered why the grownups wouldn't let children drink coffee. I got the same answer I got for why they wouldn't let us smoke: "It'll stunt your growth." Well, I didn't drink coffee, and I didn't smoke. But my growth was stunted anyway.
Over the years, I've read a lot of articles -- some informed, some not so much -- about whether coffee and caffeine might have bad health effects. People worried especially that caffeine, a stimulant, could cause cardiovascular problems ... like heart attacks! There have been a lot of studies about this, and, while caffeine does stimulate the heart, most of the studies found the effect to be benign.
The next question is whether caffeine might play a role in Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, or if it could actually affect life span. Back in 2020 and 2021, there were some studies that took a dim or mixed view of caffeine and Alzheimer's disease. Here's an example of one such study from 2020 in the journal Nature. The authors concluded, "This review suggests that caffeine consumption, especially moderate quantities consumed through coffee or green tea and in women, may reduce the risk of dementia and cognitive decline, and may ameliorate cognitive decline in cognitively impaired individuals." On the other hand, this study suggests that coffee can raise the risk of dementia, at least if drank in excess.
Something I have trouble sorting in these studies is the effect of coffee (which may be decaffeinated) and caffeine itself. The coffee may be an antioxidant, which would be one effect, while to caffeine is psychoactive, which would have a different effect.
Recently, there were a couple of related research reports. One, out of Portugal, related coffee consumption of about 3 cups a day to extending life span by 1.84 years. The study conducted at the University of Coimbra, was an analysis of 85 other studies. Critics noted the studies reviewed might vary in quality, and much of the data was self-reported. Also, many of the studies were funded by self-interested commercial organizations. So, who knows?
Another study published in Nature, September 2024, looked at the influence of coffee and tea on the development of vascular dementia, specifically among people with hypertension -- the people we thought a few years ago were most likely being killed off by caffeine. (Vascular dementia is not Alzheimer's disease.) The article was entitled, "Association between coffee and tea consumption and the risk of dementia in individuals with hypertension: a prospective cohort study." So, did coffee consumption increase or decrease the likelihood that someone with high blood pressure will develop Alzheimer's disease?
The study authors concluded there was no influence of coffee and tea on any form of dementia for the normal population. But there was a positive effect with moderate consumption for people with high blood pressure. This was for people drinking a half to one cup a day of coffee or for someone drinking four to five cups per day of tea. The coffee drinkers in this range had the lowest risk of all-cause dementia.
In their words, "There was an association between the risk of dementia and coffee and tea consumption in the total population, ... The significant association between the amount of coffee and tea consumed and the risk of all-cause and vascular dementia were more likely to be found in the hypertensive population..." "The hypertensive patients who drink 0.5–1 cup of coffee or 4–5 cups of tea per day have the lowest risk of dementia." "...[H]ypertensive individuals consuming 0.5–1 cup daily had the lowest risk of all-cause dementia ..., compared to those having 6 or more cups daily. No statistically significant connection was observed between coffee consumption and Alzheimer’s disease or vascular dementia risk in this group. Additionally, there was no correlation between coffee consumption and the risk of developing all-cause dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and vascular dementia in the population without hypertension."
My takeaway from the last study is that moderate coffee and tea consumption is good for you if you have high blood pressure. Otherwise, it's a wash. But going above six cups a day is probably not a good idea.
Nowadays, I'll usually drink one eight-ounce cup a day, but I take in a fair amount of caffeine in other ways. In my youth, I'm sure I exceeded six cups in a day.
Please note that I am not a doctor, and I don't give medical advice. If you have cardiovascular issues, follow the direction of your physician!
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