Natural Ingredient From Coffee Boosts Protection Against Alzheimer's

New research suggests four to five cups of caffeinated coffee a day could help fight off Alzheimer's disease, due to a naturally-occurring coffee ingredient that interacts with its caffeine content.

The controlled laboratory study, published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease provides the first evidence that caffeinated coffee offers the protective benefits, say the University of South Florida (USF) researchers.

According to the USF research team, the ingredient can boost blood levels of a "critical growth factor" GCSF (granulocyte colony stimulating factor), a substance greatly decreased in patients with
Alzheimer's disease and demonstrated to improve memory in Alzheimer's laboratory subjects.

Other drinks containing caffeine or decaffeinated coffee do not offer this protection, according to the researchers. They will conduct further extensive research to pinpoint the unidentified component so that other beverages can be enriched with the ingredient.

The researchers said "Hopefully, the coffee industry will soon become an active partner with Alzheimer's researchers to find
the protective ingredient in coffee and concentrate it in dietary sources,"

Methodology, Results and Analysis

In the study, the effects of caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee were compared to those of caffeine alone on both Alzheimer's and normal subjects.

For both groups, treatment with caffeinated coffee greatly increased blood levels of GCSF; neither caffeine alone or decaffeinated coffee provided this effect, reported the researchers.The researchers used only "drip" coffee in their studies and do not know whether "instant" caffeinated coffee would provide the same GCSF response.

The researchers said they have also now collected clinical evidence of caffeine/coffee's ability to protect humans against Alzheimer's and will soon publish those findings.

GCSF can improve memory performance in the Alzheimer's mice in a various ways, say the scientists. First, GCSF recruits stem cells from bone marrow to enter the brain and remove the harmful beta-amyloid protein that initiates the disease.The substance also creates new connections between brain cells and increases the birth of new neurons in the brain.

"Caffeinated coffee provides a natural increase in blood GCSF levels," said the USF neuroscience researchers.

"The exact way that this occurs is not understood. There is a synergistic interaction between caffeine and some unique component of coffee that provides this beneficial increase in blood GCSF levels."

The USF researchers said they previously reported that four to five cups per day of coffee/caffeine is required to counteract the brain pathology and memory impairment in Alzheimer's subjects.

No Other Therapy Is Known

According to the researchers, no other Alzheimer's therapy being developed comes close to meeting all the criteria that coffee offers.

"No synthetic drugs have yet been developed to treat the underlying Alzheimer's disease process" they said.

"We see no reason why an inherently natural product such as coffee cannot be more beneficial and safer than medications, especially to protect against a disease that takes decades to become apparent after it starts in the brain."

Source: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease

Caffeine Synergizes with Another Coffee Component to Increase Plasma GCSF: Linkage to Cognitive Benefits in Alzheimer's
(Published online)
______________________________________________________________________________________

Our delicious, gourmet JavaFit® Coffee features a blend of 100% premium Arabica coffee from the finest regions of Latin America.

The freshly roasted beans in each unique blend are carefully chosen by our experienced staff to create a delicious, full-bodied flavor and irresistible aroma. Many of our consistently rich, gourmet coffees are packed with vitamins, minerals and supplements to support a healthy lifestyle.

Choose your favorite(s) among traditional or organic fair trade, 8-oz or 1-pound bags, or single serve packets! We even have Decaf "the way it should be" Free of 99.9% decaffeinated, and chemical free. : ) So Email Me for more info on our Coffee: jeremyhawkins@jeremyhawkins.net