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By Kate McHugh, Ivanhoe Health Correspondent
ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A few cups of coffee or tea not only give your body a pick me up, but they may improve a woman's memory as well.
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Women age 65 and older who drink more than three cups of coffee -- or five to six cups of tea -- every day have less decline on memory tests than women who drink one cup or less of coffee or tea per day. The benefits seem to increase with age -- caffeine drinkers are 30-percent less likely to have memory decline at age 65 and 70-percent less likely at age 80. The results come out of a four year study at the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research in Montpellier, France.
"We've known for years that caffeine can produce positive effects on vigilance, tension, mood, things like that. This takes it a little further and says it has cognitive effects where people's ability to use language, particularly, is improved with the use of caffeine," Richard Restak, M.D., a neurologist from George Washington University Medical School, told Ivanhoe.
Researchers did not find any memory benefits from caffeine intake for men -- a result they did not expect, nor can they explain. "Women may be more sensitive to the effects of caffeine," study author Karen Ritchie, Ph.D., was quoted as saying. "Their bodies may react differently to the stimulant, or they may metabolize caffeine differently."
The benefits were only observed from coffee and tea as a source of caffeine intake. Soda and energy drinks did not show the same results, and may in fact be linked to some of the negative effects of caffeine intake. "Caffeine is a drug. It has effects on the heart. It can cause arrhythmias -- an irregular heartbeat. It can increase hypertension, things like that," Dr. Restak said. "The bottom line is, don't drink as much coffee and tea as you can. I think three units a day is about as much as I'd recommend anyone take."
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: Ivanhoe interview with Richard Restak, M.D.; Neurology, 2007;69:536-545
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