I grew up in a household without caffeine, and I feel a little sense of guilt each morning as I wrap my hands around that warm cup of coffee and breathe in the aroma that seems to wake up my brain with its mere scent. I was taught that caffeine is bad for your brain, bad for performance, just plain bad for you. So imagine my delight as evidence continually emerges that coffee is actually good for you. 

This latest study, tracking more than a thousand people over 21 years, showed a 65% decrease in the risk of dementia and Alzheimers in those drinking three to five cups of coffee a day. (There was a decreased risk in those drinking five or more cups as well, but there weren’t enough of them for those results to be statistically significant; maybe they were too wired to sit still for the study’s paperwork.) 

This is correlative, not causitive. So it could be that knowing you need coffee is a sign that you are dementia-free. Who knows?

Whatever the source of these results, I salute the Danish and Swedish researchers for performing this great service for coffee-lovers. To learn more about how your morning cup is saving your sanity for use in future years, check out the New York Times (free registration may be required).