While the American public tends to run on the existence of caffeine, many people think that they might be ingesting too much — even if everyone else is doing it. People who drink 3 or more cups of coffee or other caffeinated beverages each day might feel bad, like they are not taking care of their body. New research suggests that additional caffeine might be the key to preventing the early onset of Alzheimer’s Disease. Our home health care patients in the Irvine and Orange County area may benefit from the new information found during this study.
New Discoveries in Alzheimer’s Research
This study, which was completed by Gary W Arendash in St. Petersburg, Florida, was published in the 2012 Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. During the research, Dr. Arendash studied patients who showed early or mild cognitive impairment symptoms. They did not have severe cases of Alzheimer’s Disease. He noted that patients who drank coffee — about 5 cups, or 500mg of caffeine, showed delayed symptoms or no symptoms at all. During the study, 11 patients went on to be afflicted with severe dementia, and their blood-caffeine levels were below 51 percent. The patients whom blood-caffeine levels were higher than that did not form severe dementia.
However, as a home health care facility, we want to make sure all of our patients discuss their caffeine intake levels with a doctor before starting any sort of increased caffeine regiment. Not everyone is healthy enough to consume more than 500mg of caffeine every day. For instance, patients who have heart disease, anxiety, depression, or stomach and digestive issues may want to avoid consuming this much caffeine every day. The risks may be too great, even if additional caffeine is proven to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease.
Possible Ways to Incorporate Treatments
Patients who are approved to start a caffeine regiment might find that coffee is not something they enjoy drinking, at least to this extent. There are other ways to incorporate caffeine into your diet. Some popular drinks that also include caffeine are tea and soda pop. However, pop is not the healthiest way to get more caffeine into your system. Dark chocolate is a healthy way to get more caffeine, and it is good for your heart. Even better — dark chocolate is a delicious dessert choice, and you may be preventing the early onset of Alzheimer’s Disease all along the way.
We strive to provide our Irvine and Orange County patients with the latest studies. We continue to monitor the latest research findings and decide if they are right for our patients and their lifestyles. It looks as caffeine may be a great way to help prevent the early onset of Alzheimer’s Disease, but we need to make sure it is the right choice for our patients. For more information on your particular case and to find out if an increased caffeine regiment is right for you, take the time to speak with your doctor.