Coffee may be good for your brain says Harvard nutritionist Uma Naidoo
February 17, 2022
People who drink two to four cups of coffee a day have less cognitive decline as they age, says Uma Naidoo, a nutritional psychiatrist. This was the conclusion of a ten-year study of 676 elderly men, published in 2017, she notes in a column for CNBC this week.
Drinking either fewer or more than 2-4 cups has a lower positive impact on the brain. Also, dark-roasted, freshly ground coffee beans may decrease unwanted chemicals.
Coffee, Naidoo writes, has caffeine which increases serotonin and acetylcholine, which may stimulate the brain; polyphenol which may prevent tissue damage and brain blood vessel blockage; and high concentrations of trigonelline which may also activate antioxidants, thereby protecting brain blood vessels.
However, not all ingredients in the beverage are good. For example, Naidoo states, unfiltered coffee contains natural oils called diterpenes which increase LDL or bad cholesterol levels, which could thicken and harden the walls of the artery in the brain. Also, she cautions, that if you don’t feel good after drinking coffee it is probably not good for your body.
As part of her morning routine, Naidoo drinks a cup of golden milk: hot milk mixed with turmeric and a shot of espresso. She first drank it as a kid with her grandma. Indians will be familiar with this drink - or at least milk with turmeric - which Naidoo says helps “increase brain fitness and feelings of purpose” and improves her mood and gives her “a feeling of connection.”
Naidoo is the author of the best-selling book This Is Your Brain On Food. In the book, she discusses how a good diet can help treat and prevent a wide range of psychological and cognitive health issues, including dementia, attention deficit order, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and other conditions. Blueberries, for instance, can help cope with the after-effects of trauma, salami can cause depression, and that Vitamin D supplements can help treat anxiety.
Uma Naidoo is the director of nutritional and lifestyle psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, which she joined in 2001. She is on the faculty at Harvard Medical School. From 1997 to 2000, she trained at the Harvard Longwood Psychiatry Residency Training Program. In 2012, Naidoo graduated from the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts as a professional chef. Fluent in Afrikaans and Zulu, she earned her MD from the University of Kaw-Zulu Natal Medical School, Durban, South Africa.
In her book, Naidoo notes that when it comes to diet, most people’s concerns involve weight loss, fitness, cardiac health, and longevity. “But what we eat affects more than our bodies; it also affects our brains.”
The nerve endings in our gut are connected to the nerve endings in our brain, notes Naidoo. “They develop from the same exact cells in the embryo. So throughout life these 2 organs remain connected…Through this gut-brain connection, our gut (digestive tract) and our minds quite literally speak to each other!”