Why Our Brain Loves Coffee?
Coffee can prolong our lives, reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease – and improve our cognitive abilities. Researchers have now found out why our brain benefits from coffee.
There are many studies that prove the positive effects of coffee on our health. One to five cups of the pick-me-up a day can prolong our life and protect us from cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks or strokes. But our brain also benefits from coffee consumption: studies show that coffee can prevent cognitive impairment and at the same time strengthen our ability to think.
Why Does Coffee Protect Our Brain?
“According to available data, there appears to be a link between coffee consumption and a consequent reduced risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease,” said Dr. Donald Weaver, co-director of the Krembil Research Institute in Toronto, Canada. Until now, however, researchers have been groping in the dark as to where these positive effects of coffee come from. Dr. Weaver and his colleagues have now investigated exactly that. Surprisingly, according to their new study, the key to the mystery lies not in the caffeine, but in the way the coffee beans are roasted.
The scientists compared three types of coffee for their test:
- Heavily roasted
- Lightly roasted
- Decaffeinated with strong roast
“The heavily roasted and decaffeinated heavily roasted coffee showed the same health-promoting potential in our first tests. It was therefore clear that the protective effect could not come from the caffeine”, explains study co-author Dr. Ross Mancini. Finally, he and his colleagues focused on a group of components in coffee called phenylindanes, which are formed during the roasting of the beans and give the coffee its bitter taste. According to the study, they inhibit the increased formation of the proteins beta-amyloid and dew in the brain, which are involved in the development of diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Longer Roasting Promotes Protection
The longer the coffee beans are roasted, the more phenylindanes are produced. For the brain, this means that heavily roasted coffee, whether with or without caffeine, offers the greatest protection against cognitive degeneration compared to light roasting. What was also interesting for the researchers was that the components arise naturally and do not have to be laboriously produced in the laboratory, which simplifies production. “Mother Nature is a much better chemist than we are, and she is able to create these protective components herself,” says Dr. Mancini.
Coffee as a Cure for Everything?
Next, the scientists plan to investigate whether phenylindanes are also suitable for the treatment of existing memory disorders. The researchers do not yet believe that coffee can be declared a new panacea, although the results so far are promising. Until then, we can just keep drinking up to five cups of coffee a day and benefit from many other health effects!