Posted on June 28th, 2010 by Craig Maltby, Editor
Brain. Coffee. Immune.
I’m eating my left over chopped salad from last night….for breakfast. I figured what the heck, lettuce, peppers, carrots, 
diced chicken and a splash of vinegar is much better for me than pancakes and eggs (right?). As I’m eating and reading the Wall Street Journal headlines, I hear a story on the radio. An NPR health piece highlighting a new mouse study showing that consuming 5 to 6 cups of caffeinated coffee may significantly reduce risk for Alzheimer’s disease later in life. Normally, I might not pay a lot of attention to it. However, several factors made me take notice:
- I’m a coffee addict, at least during the work week. 5-6 cups a day is easy for me.
- The whole field of brain health, especially the impact of brain function on other health conditions in the body, is of growing interest to researcher and consumers.
- The data showing benefits of coffee on health just seems to be growing and growing. It apparently has a huge antioxidant profile.
- The role of brain function in immune health, and vice versa. Some recent evidence shows there is an actual presence of immune cells in the brain that may act as an early warning system for brain abnormalities long before symptoms appear. And, to the converse, mental function may, in turn, impact how the immune system responds to a host of health issues throughout the body, not just in the brain.
This story continues to show that, while mind over matter is a legitimate, science-based health frontier, matter helping mind (antioxidants and maybe caffeine) is also a way to make sure that the mind is a healthy mind so it can be at its best when it’s over the matter. Did I just make any sense?
