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Pluvious

(4,310 posts)
Sat Jul 24, 2021, 11:44 AM Jul 2021

Too much coffee can cause your brain to shrink, raise dementia risk by 53 percent

Yikes, this is good to know...



Drinking six or more cups a day was linked with a 53 percent increased risk of dementia and make stroke more likely, too. Brain imaging reveals that drinking a lot of coffee was also associated with brain shrinkage, say scientists.

The study, conducted at the Australian Centre for Precision Health at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, is the largest of its kind based on 17,702 participants aged 30 to 37. Kitty Pham, a PhD candidate at the University of South Australia, who led the team of international researchers, says the findings draw attention to the risk of over-consuming.

“Coffee is among the most popular drinks in the world. Yet with global consumption being more than nine billion kilograms a year, it’s critical that we understand any potential health implications,” she explains in a statement. “This is the most extensive investigation into the connections between coffee, brain volume measurements, the risks of dementia, and the risks of stroke – it’s also the largest study to consider volumetric brain imaging data and a wide range of confounding factors.

“Accounting for all possible permutations, we consistently found that higher coffee consumption was significantly associated with reduced brain volume,” she continues. “Essentially, drinking more than six cups of coffee a day may be putting you at risk of brain diseases such as dementia and stroke.”

‘Drink water alongside that cup of coffee,’ researchers suggest.



The findings are published in the journal Nutritional Neuroscience.
https://www.studyfinds.org/coffee-can-shrink-brain-raise-dementia-risk
47 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Too much coffee can cause your brain to shrink, raise dementia risk by 53 percent (Original Post) Pluvious Jul 2021 OP
So coffee is bad again? Wounded Bear Jul 2021 #1
I've lost track of how many times this has seesawed. I guess I'll continue on with my 2-3 cups a day chia Jul 2021 #3
I know. I'm either doomed or ahead of the game (says the woman enjoying her third cup Arkansas Granny Jul 2021 #7
Just wait, they'll swing back around to eggs again soon enough. Treefrog Jul 2021 #23
I don't think I'm going to get out of this alive HAB911 Jul 2021 #2
None of us will... Wounded Bear Jul 2021 #5
And I have been swilling the evil brew to extend my life... Chainfire Jul 2021 #4
The good news for me is that I can use the extra cranium room to keep my spare change! Scrivener7 Jul 2021 #6
Trust the science, but which study? Hoyt Jul 2021 #8
Then there are the studies that say that coffee increases brain function, helps with the niyad Jul 2021 #9
I'm wondering if it is self-medication by those who are already prone to those maladies. Hugin Jul 2021 #19
I agree. hunter Jul 2021 #29
I wonder who funded it? niyad Jul 2021 #10
Someone called the Twinings-UK Foundation. SYFROYH Jul 2021 #39
you owe me a cup of coffee! niyad Jul 2021 #40
Doesn't surprise me in the least relayerbob Jul 2021 #11
If you don't like it Bettie Jul 2021 #13
Go ahead relayerbob Jul 2021 #21
So how high is that horse you're riding? sakabatou Jul 2021 #42
Same here. Treefrog Jul 2021 #43
You don't like it? More for me... Hekate Jul 2021 #22
A vast majority of studies show good things coffee does to for the body Sugarcoated Jul 2021 #36
Probably because people neglect the other food groups dalton99a Jul 2021 #12
Yikes is right. I am doomed. LizBeth Jul 2021 #14
It says six or more cups a day. PoindexterOglethorpe Jul 2021 #15
I'll admit to breathing a sigh of relief when I read "6 or more cups per day"! bullwinkle428 Jul 2021 #18
Is it the caffeine? Yonnie3 Jul 2021 #16
We need this critical info. JudyM Jul 2021 #37
Tossing that study out - Ms. Toad Jul 2021 #17
...! Buns_of_Fire Jul 2021 #20
Seems like when I don't have a cup of coffee in the morning, my brain shrinks down to zero. world wide wally Jul 2021 #24
Nonsense. cloudbase Jul 2021 #25
I always struggle with how a "cup" of coffee is never defined! Is it the standard 8 oz. cup? Is Nay Jul 2021 #26
Same here. I hate sloppy science reporting dumbcat Jul 2021 #34
It drives me insane. Useless, useless, useless information unless you can tell us Nay Jul 2021 #47
Well I guess I'm f...ed. CentralMass Jul 2021 #27
Well when I start drinking 6 cups a day, I will worry JCMach1 Jul 2021 #28
No one gets out alive. bluedigger Jul 2021 #30
SIX cups of coffee a day? DFW Jul 2021 #31
It's possible that the causation works in reverse here. dawg Jul 2021 #32
Today it's coffee. lpbk2713 Jul 2021 #33
Yes, all things in moderation, including the extent to which you practice all things in moderation. Towlie Jul 2021 #35
Too much caffeine? Duppers Jul 2021 #38
Six or more cups a day. sakabatou Jul 2021 #41
One or two cups a day I_UndergroundPanther Jul 2021 #44
I think it's still good for the liver. But maybe that was leftyladyfrommo Jul 2021 #45
As if. betsuni Jul 2021 #46

chia

(2,244 posts)
3. I've lost track of how many times this has seesawed. I guess I'll continue on with my 2-3 cups a day
Sat Jul 24, 2021, 11:48 AM
Jul 2021

and see what happens...

Scrivener7

(50,949 posts)
6. The good news for me is that I can use the extra cranium room to keep my spare change!
Sat Jul 24, 2021, 11:50 AM
Jul 2021

My brain must be the size of a walnut.

niyad

(113,286 posts)
9. Then there are the studies that say that coffee increases brain function, helps with the
Sat Jul 24, 2021, 12:04 PM
Jul 2021

mid-afternoon slump.

Hugin

(33,135 posts)
19. I'm wondering if it is self-medication by those who are already prone to those maladies.
Sat Jul 24, 2021, 12:14 PM
Jul 2021

My Mom succumbed to a form of dementia and looking back on her last decades, I'm sure she knew it was happening and was compensating (very well, IMO). She also upped her caffeine in those years.

hunter

(38,311 posts)
29. I agree.
Sat Jul 24, 2021, 01:21 PM
Jul 2021

Someone who's mind is fading for other physical reasons might drink more coffee to maintain their focus.


bullwinkle428

(20,629 posts)
18. I'll admit to breathing a sigh of relief when I read "6 or more cups per day"!
Sat Jul 24, 2021, 12:14 PM
Jul 2021

One per day at work, and two each day on the weekends is not causing me a ton of concern.

Yonnie3

(17,434 posts)
16. Is it the caffeine?
Sat Jul 24, 2021, 12:11 PM
Jul 2021

It is not mentioned.

Are six Mountain Dews a day just as bad?

Retrospective studies, such as this, can "suggest" correlations but are not able to prove them.

JudyM

(29,236 posts)
37. We need this critical info.
Sat Jul 24, 2021, 02:09 PM
Jul 2021

Speaking as a decaf drinker.

Also, being dose dependent, does the brain shrink half as much if 3 cups are consumed? Yikes.

Ms. Toad

(34,069 posts)
17. Tossing that study out -
Sat Jul 24, 2021, 12:13 PM
Jul 2021

The final line uttered by someone connected with the study buys into the bad science that liquid is not liquid.

If it were true that drinking coffee dehydrates you, all of us coffee drinkers would be withered old prunes. Trust me. We're not.

It is true that caffeinated drinks can contribute to your daily fluid requirement.

Drinking caffeine-containing beverages as part of a normal lifestyle doesn't cause fluid loss in excess of the volume ingested. While caffeinated drinks may have a mild diuretic effect — meaning that they may cause the need to urinate — they don't appear to increase the risk of dehydration.


https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/caffeinated-drinks/faq-20057965

Buns_of_Fire

(17,175 posts)
20. ...!
Sat Jul 24, 2021, 12:14 PM
Jul 2021


On the plus side, according to my study, a distilled coffee enhancer (like Irish Whiskey, or if you like your coffee lighter, Bailey's Irish Cream) will counteract the negative effects. And even if it doesn't, after four or five cups, who cares?

Nay

(12,051 posts)
26. I always struggle with how a "cup" of coffee is never defined! Is it the standard 8 oz. cup? Is
Sat Jul 24, 2021, 12:56 PM
Jul 2021

it the "coffee carafe cup," which is 4 or 5 oz.? Or is it the standard mug size cup, which is 12 to 14 oz.? Report your measurements, scientists!! Surely if you have decided that "6 or more cups" is bad for you, you must have at least measured the size of people's daily cups, or measured the liquid ozs. drunk by the test subjects during the study period, etc.?

If they are claiming that six or more 4-oz. cups of coffee is bad, then the person who drinks two 12-oz. mugs is in the same amount of danger, but those mug users will never know the danger they're in, because they only drink TWO cups of coffee a day.

Maddening.

dumbcat

(2,120 posts)
34. Same here. I hate sloppy science reporting
Sat Jul 24, 2021, 01:51 PM
Jul 2021

How big is their "cup"? How about they specify fluid ounces per day instead, or at least give an equivalency.

And I wonder how that relates to body mass? And how "strong" is the coffee? There are different roasts and strengths.

Sounds like sloppy science to me.

Nay

(12,051 posts)
47. It drives me insane. Useless, useless, useless information unless you can tell us
Sun Jul 25, 2021, 11:28 AM
Jul 2021

one simple fact: which cup size are we talking about? Grrrrrrrr.

dawg

(10,624 posts)
32. It's possible that the causation works in reverse here.
Sat Jul 24, 2021, 01:42 PM
Jul 2021

People who feel their mental sharpness beginning to slip, even if only subconciously, seek out more coffee in an attempt to regain their lost edge.

lpbk2713

(42,757 posts)
33. Today it's coffee.
Sat Jul 24, 2021, 01:46 PM
Jul 2021


Tomorrow it's red wine, next day aspirin, next day diet soda and on and on.

All things in moderation.

Towlie

(5,324 posts)
35. Yes, all things in moderation, including the extent to which you practice all things in moderation.
Sat Jul 24, 2021, 01:56 PM
Jul 2021

 
?

Duppers

(28,120 posts)
38. Too much caffeine?
Sat Jul 24, 2021, 05:10 PM
Jul 2021

Causing dehydration? If so, couldn't this also apply to too much tea consumption?

I read that the researchers did not conclude the exact mechanism causing the dementia.



(I drink mug after mug hot tea per day.)

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