Caffeine reversed memory problems caused by sleep deprivation

In continuation of my update on Caffeine

Researchers at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine) have found that caffeine can help restore a specific type of memory that is impaired by sleep deprivation. The findings, published in Neuropsychopharmacology, reveal how caffeine acts on a well-defined brain pathway involved in social memory, the ability to recognize and distinguish people we have encountered before.

The research provides new insight into how sleep loss affects the brain and suggests that caffeine's benefits may extend beyond simply increasing alertness.

How Sleep Loss Affects Social Memory

The study was led by Associate Professor Sreedharan Sajikumar and first author Dr. Lik-Wei Wong from the Department of Physiology and the Healthy Longevity Translational Research Program at NUS Medicine.

The team focused on a part of the brain known as the hippocampal CA2 region. The hippocampus is critical for learning and memory, while the CA2 area plays a particularly important role in forming social memories. This brain region also receives signals involved in regulating sleep and wakefulness.

To investigate the effects of sleep deprivation, the researchers subjected laboratory animals to five hours of sleep loss. Afterward, caffeine was provided in drinking water for unrestricted consumption over a seven-day period.

Caffeine Restored Brain Communication

Caffeine is a stimulant that blocks adenosine receptor signaling pathways. Adenosine accumulates during periods of wakefulness and helps reduce brain activity, contributing to feelings of sleepiness.

The researchers then performed electrophysiological recordings on hippocampal tissue samples to assess synaptic plasticity, the brain's ability to strengthen or weaken connections between nerve cells in response to experience and learning.

The results showed that sleep deprivation disrupted the maintenance of synaptic plasticity in the CA2 region. Communication between neurons weakened, reducing the brain's capacity to strengthen important neural connections. These changes were accompanied by noticeable deficits in social recognition memory.

Overall, the findings demonstrated that sleep loss impaired both brain function and behavior through a specific neural circuit.

A Targeted Effect on Memory Circuits

The researchers also found that caffeine administered before sleep deprivation restored synaptic communication in the CA2 region and returned plasticity to normal levels.

As a result, the social memory deficits caused by sleep loss were reversed. Importantly, caffeine's effects were highly selective. Rather than broadly increasing activity throughout the brain, it specifically restored the disrupted pathway linked to social memory.

This targeted action meant that animals in the control group that had not experienced sleep deprivation did not show signs of excessive neural stimulation despite receiving caffeine.

"Sleep deprivation does not just make you tired. It selectively disrupts important memory circuits," noted Dr. Wong. "We found that caffeine can reverse these disruptions at both the molecular and behavioral levels. Its ability to do so suggests that caffeine's benefits may extend beyond simply helping us stay awake."

Assoc Prof Sajikumar added, "Our findings position the CA2 region as a critical hub linking sleep and social memory. This research enhances our understanding towards the biological mechanisms underlying sleep-related cognitive decline. This could inform future approaches to preserving cognitive performance."

Implications for Brain Health and Future Research

The findings highlight the essential role sleep plays in maintaining healthy cognition and memory. By showing that caffeine can restore specific neural pathways affected by sleep deprivation, the study provides new insight into potential targeted approaches for addressing cognitive decline.

The researchers plan to continue investigating how caffeine influences memory consolidation and memory retrieval. Future studies will also use targeted manipulations of brain circuits to better understand the causal relationship between neural pathways and memory function.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine

Caffeine reversed memory problems caused by sleep deprivation  

Caffeine consumption may help kidney disease patients live longer

In continuation of my update on caffeine..

Caffeine consumption may prolong the lives in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), according to a study that will be presented at ASN Kidney Week 2017 October 31-November 5 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, LA.  

Coffee consumption has been linked to a longer life in the general population. To see if this holds true for individuals with CKD, Miguel Bigotte Vieira, MD (Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Norte, in Portugal), and his colleagues examined the association of caffeine consumption with mortality among 2328 patients with CKD in a prospective US cohort, using the continuous National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey(NHANES) 1999-2010.

The team found a dose-dependent inverse association between caffeine and all-cause mortality. Compared with those in the lowest quartile of caffeine consumption, those in the second, third, and highest quartiles had 12%, 22%, and 24% lower risks of dying.

"Our study showed a dose-dependent protective effect of caffeine consumption on mortality among patients with CKD. This association was independent of potential confounders including age, gender, race, annual family income, education level, estimated GFR, albumin/creatinine ratio, hypertension, smoking status, dyslipidemia, body mass index, previous cardiovascular events and diet: consumption of alcohol, carbohydrates, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and fibers," said Dr. Bigotte Vieira. 

"These results suggest that advising patients with CKD to drink more caffeine may reduce their mortality. This would represent a simple, clinically beneficial, and inexpensive option, though this benefit should ideally be confirmed in a randomized clinical trial." Dr. Bigotte Vieira stressed that this observational study cannot prove thatcaffeine reduces the risk of death in patients with CKD, but onlysuggests the possibility of such a protective effect.

Caffeine consumption may help kidney disease patients live longer

Caffeine-based compound with small amount of gold could be used as anticancer agent

The side effects of ingesting too much caffeine - restlessness, increased heart rate, having trouble sleeping - are well known, but recent research has shown that the stimulant also has a good side. It can kill cancer cells. Now, researchers report in the ACS journal Inorganic Chemistry that combining a caffeine-based compound with a small amount of gold could someday be used as an anticancer agent.

Angela Casini, Michel Picquet and colleagues note that caffeine and certain caffeine-based compounds have recently been in the spotlight as possible anticancer treatments. But drinking gallons of coffee, sodas and energy drinks isn't the solution. And the regular caffeine in these drinks would start to have negative effects on healthy cells, too, at the levels necessary to kill cancerous ones. Gold also can wipe out cancer cells, but, like caffeine, it can harm healthy cells. So, the research team put the two together into certain configurations to see whether the new caffeine-based gold compounds could selectively stop cancer cells from growing without hurting other cells.

They made a series of seven new compounds, called caffeine-based gold (I) N-heterocyclic carbenes, in the laboratory and studied them. The scientists found that, at certain concentrations, one of the compounds of the series selectively killed human ovarian cancer cells without harming healthy cells. In addition, the compound targeted a type of DNA architecture, called "G-quadruplex," that is associated with cancer.

Ref : http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ic403011h?prevSearch=Angela%2BCasini&searchHistoryKey=

Caffeine-based compound with small amount of gold could be used as anticancer agent

Study shows how caffeine counteracts age-related cognitive deficits in animals

A study published in the journal Scientific Reports from Nature publishing group, describes the mechanism by which caffeine counteracts age-related cognitive deficits in animals.

The study coordinated by Portuguese researchers from Instituto de Medicina Molecular (iMM Lisboa) and collaborators from Inserm in Lille, France, along with teams from Germany and United States, showed that the abnormalexpression of a particular receptor - the adenosine A2A, target for caffeine - in the brain of rats induces an aging-like profile namely memory impairments linked to the loss of stress controlling mechanisms.

"This is part of a larger study initiated 4 years ago in which we identified the role of this receptor in stress, but we did not know whether its activation would be sufficient to trigger all the changes. We now found that by altering the amount of this receptor alone in neurons from hippocampus and cortex - memory related areas - is sufficient to induce a profile that we designate as 'early-aging' combining the memory loss and an increase in stress hormones in plasma (cortisol)" - explains Luisa Lopes, Group Leader at iMM Lisboa and the coordinator of the study.

When the same animals were treated with a caffeine analogue, which blocks the action of adenosine A2A receptors, both memory and stress related deficits were normalized.

David Blum, from Inserm research director, adds: "In elderly people, we know there is an increase of stress hormones that have an impact on memory. Our work supports the view that the procognitive effects of A2AR antagonists, namely caffeine, observed in Alzheimer's and age-related cognitive impairments may rely on this ability to counteract the loss of stress controlling mechanisms that occurs upon aging"

This is important not only to understand the fundamental changes that occur upon aging, but it also identifies the dysfunctions of the adenosine A2A receptor as a key player in triggering these changes. And a very appealing therapeutic target" - concludes Luisa Lopes.

Study shows how caffeine counteracts age-related cognitive deficits in animals: A study published in the journal Scientific Reports from Nature publishing group, describes the mechanism by which caffeine counteracts age-related cognitive deficits in animals.

Coffee May Have Another Perk for Kidney Patients

In continuation of my update on coffee

The benefit remained "even after considering other important factors such as age, gender, race, smoking, other diseases and diet," according to one of the study's lead authors, Miguel Bigotte Vieira, of North Lisbon Hospital Center in Portugal.

In the study, Vieira's team tracked data on 4,863 U.S. chronic kidney disease patients monitored from 1999 to 2010.

Although the study couldn't prove cause-and-effect, it found that greater caffeine intake was tied to greater life expectancy for people with chronic kidney disease.

Compared to those who consumed very little caffeine per day, people with caffeine intake in the high range had about a 25 percent lower risk of death over an average follow-up of five years.

People who consumed the most caffeine tended to be white and male, with more education and higher incomes. They were also more likely to be current or former smokers and heavier drinkers than those who drank only small amounts of caffeine.

The findings were published Sept. 12 in Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation.

According to the researchers, chronic kidney disease affects 14 percent of American adults, leading to higher health care costs and a greater risk of death.

So, simply drinking more coffee or other caffeine-laden beverages "would represent a simple, clinically beneficial and inexpensive option, though this benefit should ideally be confirmed in a randomized clinical trial," Vieira said in a journal news release.

One U.S. endocrinologist who wasn't connected to the study said there could be physiologic reasons behind the benefit.

"Coffee has had a bad reputation, but this study showed that people who drink coffee did better," said Dr. Robert Courgi, of Southside Hospital in Bay Shore, N.Y."Perhaps it is because coffee may help the blood vessels function better through nitric oxide," he said. Nitric oxide is a key player in healthy blood vessel function.

Ref: https://medlineplus.gov/caffeine.html

Caffeine's effect on the brain's adenosine receptors visualized for the first time

In continuation on my update on coffee

Molecular imaging with positron emission tomography (PET) has enabled scientists for the first time to visualize binding sites of caffeine in the living human brain to explore possible positive and negative effects of caffeine consumption. According to research published in the November issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine, PET imaging with F-18-8-cyclopentyl-3-(3-fluoropropyl)-1-propylxanthine (F-18-CPFPX) shows that repeated intake of caffeinated beverages throughout a day results in up to 50 percent occupancy of the brain's A₁adenosine receptors.

"There is substantial evidence that caffeine is protective against neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's or Alzheimer's disease," noted Elmenhorst. "Several investigations show that moderate coffee consumption of 3 to 5 cups per day at mid-life is linked to a reduced risk of dementia in late life. The present study provides evidence that typical caffeine doses result in a high A₁ adenosine receptor occupancy and supports the view that the A₁ adenosine receptor deserves broader attention in the context of neurodegenerative disorders." 

Caffeine's effect on the brain's adenosine receptors visualized for the first time

Four cups of coffee a day shown to protect heart muscle

In continuation of my update on coffee

A new study has shown that drinking four cups of coffee a day can protect against heart muscle damage through the effect of caffeine on a protein called p27

Caffeine intake has been associated with a lower risk of several chronic metabolic diseases such as cardiovascular disease (stroke and ischemic heart disease), and type II diabetes.

The current study, which was carried out at Heinrich-Heine-University and the IUF-Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine in Duesseldorf, Germany, shows that caffeine, at a concentration equivalent to that in four cups of coffee, works to enhance the mitochondrial entry of a protein called p27.

P27 is protein that promotes effective mitochondrial function. It protects the cells of the heart and blood vessels against damage. The study was recently published in the open access journal PLOS Biology.

Prior research by the same scientists revealed that caffeine improves the function of endothelial cells that line the cardiovascular system. This was seen to occur at normal, safe doses and was related to mitochondria.

Following the study, the scientists focused on the p27 protein, known better as a cell cycle inhibitor, and found that it was present within the mitochondria of all major cell-types in the heart.

The p27 protein prevents cell death in cardiac muscle cells, encourages endothelial cells to migrate, and promotes the maturation of fibroblasts into contractile cells. These processes are vital components of cardiac muscle repair following a heart attack.

Caffeine promotes this repair by facilitating the first step, namely, the entry of p27 protein into the mitochondria, at physiologic levels. This protective effect against heart damage is present in elderly, obese and prediabetic mice.

Our results indicate a new mode of action for caffeine, one that promotes protection and repair of heart muscle through the action of mitochondrial p27. These results should lead to better strategies for protecting heart muscle from damage, including consideration of coffee consumption or caffeine as an additional dietary factor in the elderly population.”

Dr. Judith Haendeler, Heinrich-Heine-University

Ref : https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-06/p-cff061418.php

Caffeine in coffee may help small blood vessels work better

The caffeine in a cup of coffee might help your small blood vessels work better, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2013.

A study of 27 healthy adults showed - for the first time - that drinking a cup of caffeinated coffee significantly improved blood flow in a finger, which is a measure of how well the inner lining of the body's smaller blood vessels work. Specifically, participants who drank a cup of caffeinated coffee had a 30 percent increase in blood flow over a 75-minute period compared to those who drank decaffeinated coffee.

"This gives us a clue about how coffee may help improve cardiovascular health," said Masato Tsutsui, M.D., Ph.D., lead researcher and a cardiologist and professor in the pharmacology department at the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa, Japan.

The study adds to a growing body of research about coffee, the most widely consumed beverage worldwide. Previous studies showed that drinking coffee is linked to lower risks of dying from heart disease and stroke, and that high doses of caffeine may improve the function of larger arteries.

Caffeine in coffee may help small blood vessels work better

Moderate coffee consumption may offer protection against age-related cognitive decline

A new report from the Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee (ISIC), a not-for-profit organisation devoted to the study and disclosure of science related to coffee and health, highlights the potential role of coffee consumption in reducing the risk of cognitive decline. The report concludes that a moderate intake of coffee (3-5 cups per day) may provide protection against age-related cognitive decline and other neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

The report provides a summary of the research presented at ISIC's symposium, titled 'Nutrition, Coffee and Age-Related Cognitive Decline', held during the European Union Geriatric Medicine Society's 2016 Congress in Lisbon, Portugal. The findings are particularly relevant given Europe's ageing population: the number of people aged 60 years or over is projected to rise to 217.2 million by 2030, therefore understanding and communicating diet and lifestyle factors that may limit age-related cognitive decline will help to improve the quality of life for this growing demographic.

The symposium speakers whose insights and research contributed to ISIC's report were:

• Professor Lisette de Groot, Professor of Nutrition and Ageing, Division of Human Nutrition at Wageningen University (The Netherlands)
• Professor Rodrigo A. Cunha, Professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Coimbra and Principal Investigator at the Centre for Neuroscience and Cell Biology of the University of Coimbra (CNC) (Portugal)
• Dr Elisabet Rothenberg, Associate Professor of Nutrition at Kristianstad University (Sweden)

Key highlights about coffee from the report include:

• Research published in 2016 suggests that moderate coffee consumption can reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's by up to 27%. Research has suggested that it is regular, long-term coffee drinking that is key to helping to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's Disease.
• The association between coffee consumption and cognitive decline is illustrated by a 'U-shaped' pattern in recent meta-analyses, with the greatest protection seen at an intake of approximately 3-5 cups of coffee per day.
• Although the precise mechanisms of action behind the suggested association between coffee and age-related cognitive decline are unknown, caffeine is likely to be involved. There are many other compounds in coffee, such as antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents, which may also play a role. Caffeic acid, for example, is a polyphenol (antioxidant) found in coffee, and research suggests that these may be associated with improved cognitive function.

Professor Rodrigo A. Cunha, Professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Coimbra and Principal Investigator at the Centre for Neuroscience and Cell Biology of the University of Coimbra (CNC), Portugal, commented:

"Healthcare professionals have an important part to play in providing patients with accurate research-based information, to help them to follow a healthy diet and lifestyle, and in turn, reduce their risk of age-related cognitive decline. Moderate coffee consumption could play a significant role in reducing cognitive decline which would impact health outcomes and healthcare spending across Europe."

In its Scientific Opinion on the safety of caffeine, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) concluded that intakes of up to 400mg of caffeine (the equivalent of up to 5 cups of coffee per day), from all sources, do not raise any concerns for healthy adults. One cup of coffee provides approximately 75-100mg caffeine.

Coffee Might Be Your Go-to Brew for Weight Loss

In continuation of my update on coffee

Could America's favorite morning drink also help fight one of its biggest health issues, obesity?

That's the suggestion from a British study that finds coffee stimulates the human body's "brown fat," a heat-generating form of fat that literally burns calories in a process called thermogenesis.

"This is the first study in humans to show that something like a cup ofcoffeecan have a direct effect on our brown fat functions," said study leader Michael Symonds, of the University of Nottingham.

"The potential implications of our results are pretty big, as obesity is a major health concern for society and we also have a growing diabetes epidemic and brown fat could potentially be part of the solution in tackling them," he said in a university news release.

But one U.S. obesity and nutrition expert said it's just too early to label coffee a dieter's best friend.

"Usually thermogenic properties are too minimal and insignificant" to help someone go from overweight to normal weight, explained registered dietitian Sharon Zarabi. She directs the bariatrics program at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

As Symonds' team explained, thermogenic brown fat was long thought to only exist in either human babies or hibernating animals, such as bears.

But in recent years it's been discovered in adult people. It's distinct from white fat cells, which is where the body stores excess calories.

"Brown fat works in a different way to other fat in your body and produces heat by burning sugar and fat, often in response to cold," Symonds explained. So, "increasing its activity improves blood sugar control as well as improving blood lipid [cholesterol] levels, and the extra calories burnt help with weight loss."

But can brown fat be stimulated into calorie-burning activity by something you eat or drink?

To find out, the British team used stem cell-based studies to first see if caffeine might do the trick. It did, at a certain dose.

The next step was to use high-tech imaging to track changes in brown fat stored in people's necks.

"We were able to image someone straight after they had a drink [of coffee] to see if the brown fat got hotter," said Symonds.

"The results were positive," he said, so the next step is to figure out which component of coffee -- perhaps the caffeine -- is activating brown fat.

His team is also "looking atcaffeinesupplements to test whether the effect is similar," Symonds said. "Once we have confirmed which component is responsible for this, it could potentially be used as part of a weight management regime or as part of [a] glucose regulation program to help prevent diabetes."

But Zarabi said dieters shouldn't view coffee as any magic potion for weight loss.

"I'd still recommend a cup o' joe at some point in the morning for a mental boost and pep in the day, but definitely not to help you lose weight -- unless you're using that caffeine for stimulation of a heart-pounding workout," she said.

That's because exercise remains the best and most efficient way to burn calories, Zarabi said.

But if you do choose to try coffee to lose weight, drink it black, she advised.

"This shouldn't give anyone the pass to drink unlimited amounts of coffee," Zarabi said. "And many drink coffee 'light and sweet,' which defeats the whole purpose of burning energy, because you're taking it all back in with the condiments."

Caffeine can prevent memory loss in diabetes

Caffeine can prevent memory loss in diabetes: Badly controlled diabetes are known to affect the brain causing memory and learning problems and even increased incidence of dementia, although how this occurs is not clear. But now a study in mice with type 2 diabetes has discovered how diabetes affects a brain area called hippocampus causing memory loss, and also how caffeine can prevent this. 

Coffee helps teams work together, study suggests

In continuation of my update on coffee

Good teamwork begins with a cup of coffee for everyone, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that people gave more positive reviews for their group's performance on a task—and their own contribution—if they drank caffeinated coffee beforehand.

A second study showed that people talked more in a group setting under the influence of caffeinated coffee—but they also were more on-topic than those who drank decaf.

Coffee seems to work its magic in teams by making people more alert, said Amit Singh, co-author of the study and a doctoral student in marketing at The Ohio State University's Fisher College of Business.

"We found that increased alertness was what led to the positive results for team performance," Singh said.

"Not surprisingly, people who drank caffeinated coffee tended to be more alert."

Singh conducted the study with Vasu Unnava and H. Rao Unnava, both formerly at Ohio State and now with the Graduate School of Management at the University of California, Davis. The study appears online in the Journal of Psychopharmacology.

While many studies have looked at how caffeine affects individual performance, this is the first to examine the impact it has on teams, Singh said.

The first study involved 72 undergraduate students who said they were coffee drinkers. They were instructed not to drink coffee before the experiment.

Half of them first participated in what they were told was a coffee-tasting task. They were split into groups of five. After drinking a cup of coffee and rating its flavor, they were given 30 minutes of filler tasks to give the caffeine a chance to kick in. The other half of the participants did the coffee tasting at the end of the experiment.

Each group then read about and were asked to discuss a controversial topic—the Occupy movement, a liberal movement that highlighted social and economic inequality. After a 15-minute discussion, group members evaluated themselves and the other group members.

Results showed that those who drank the coffee before the discussion rated themselves and their fellow team members more positively than did those who drank coffee after the discussion, Singh said.

The second study was similar, except that 61 students all drank coffee at the beginning of the study. However, half drank decaf and the others drank caffeinated brew.

http://journals.sagepub.com/loi/jop

What Does the Research Say About Coffee and Your Health?

In continuation of my update on coffee...

Coffee-Cup of joe. Java. No matter what you call it, millions of people worldwide wake up and fuel their day with it. And though consumers might be jittery about the recent court battle in California over cancer warnings, experts say most of the science actually indicates coffee could have health benefits.

"The overall picture is quite clear," said Dr. Frank Hu, chair of nutrition at Harvard University's T.H. Chan School of Public Health. "There is no long-term increased risk of major chronic disease, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease or even cancer."

The java confusion stems over an eight-year court case. A Los Angeles-based judge's preliminary decision last month requires cancer warning labels because of concerns about acrylamide, a chemical produced during the roasting process. Acrylamide also is present in some fried or roasted starchy foods, including french fries, potato chips, breakfast cereals and toast. It's also found in cigarette smoke. The judge gave the coffee industry a few weeks to file appeals and could issue a final ruling late this month.

But there's little evidence acrylamide levels in food cause cancer in humans. Studies have found no consistent evidence acrylamide exposure in food is associated with cancer risk, according to the U.S. National Cancer Institute. The World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer reviewed more than 1,000 human and animal studies and issued a statement in 2016 that "found no conclusive evidence for a carcinogenic effect of drinking coffee."

"The California judge's decision to label coffee as a cancer risk is really inconsistent with the scientific literature," Hu said. "It's very misleading and has already caused a huge amount of confusion in the general public. The health outcomes have been remarkably consistent."

Hu was senior author of a 2015 study in the journal Circulation that concluded people who regularly drink moderate amounts of coffee daily -- fewer than five cups -- experienced a lower risk of death from heart and neurological diseases.

About four years ago, the U.S. government gave coffee its OK, too. The Department of Agriculture's dietary guidelines for all Americans, published every five years as a go-to source for nutrition advice, said three to five cups a day, which can be up to 400 milligrams a day of caffeine, can be part of a healthy diet. The American Heart Association suggests that people who have an arrhythmia, an abnormal heart rhythm, talk to their health care provider about caffeine intake.

"This guidance on coffee is informed by strong and consistent evidence showing that, in healthy adults, moderate coffee consumption is not associated with an increased risk of major chronic diseases (e.g., cancer) or premature death, especially from cardiovascular disease," the federal guidelines say. "However, individuals who do not consume caffeinated coffee or other caffeinated beverages are not encouraged to incorporate them into their eating pattern."

More recently, a review of more than 200 studies published last fall in the BMJ concluded three to four cups a day may be "more likely to benefit health than harm." It found a lower risk of liver disease and some cancers in coffee drinkers, and a lower risk of dying from stroke.

All of that should be good news to the people around the world who drink more than 1.1 billion cups of coffee each day.

But it's still easy to be confused. A quick search for coffee and health online yields hundreds, even thousands, of results.

Studies abound -- some funded by the coffee industry. For example, a European Journal of Nutritionstudy investigated the effects of coffee and its antioxidant properties and found no effect. Researchers took blood samples of 160 volunteers who drank up to three to five cups of coffee or water each day for eight weeks.

"Up to five cups of coffee per day had no detectable effect, either beneficial or harmful, on human health," that study concluded. It was funded by Kraft Foods, which makes Maxwell House coffees.

Of course, "no one is talking about coffee as a magic bullet," Hu said. He and other experts say it's important to keep track of the bigger picture, with the focus on moderation and dietary patterns.

"You can't pin anything on any one specific lifestyle behavior, particularly with diet," said Alice Lichtenstein, a senior scientist and director of the Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory at Tufts University in Boston.

"When we talk about diet, it should really be about the whole package, not single items. Right now, the majority of the evidence suggests there may be a health benefit from drinking coffee and there doesn't seem to be any disadvantage. Of course, with a caveat that you don't want to add a lot of cream and sugar, or to use it as an excuse to have a few cookies or a pastry. Then, there is a downside," said Lichtenstein, a professor of nutrition science and policy who also was an advisor on the federal dietary guidelines.

"We have a tendency to focus on one or two specific foods or beverages, and that's when the whole floor falls out from under us."

Tea could help lower high blood pressure: Study

In continuation of my update on tea and its effect....

A new study suggests that taking tea daily could help in lowering blood pressure.The study shows that people who drank three cups of black tea a day were able to lower their blood pressure. This was seen when compared to those who drank a placebo similar in taste and caffeine content. Those who drank the tea saw a slight drop in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure over six months.

Experts however warned that drinking tea is not a substitute for blood pressure-lowering medication, but researchers said the findings show tea could still provide a benefit.

Researchers note that although the study cannot identify specific components of the tea that might lead to a drop in blood pressure, past studies have shown flavonoids, compounds found in many plants such as tea, are good for heart health.

“The message really isn't for an individual to go out and drink a lot of tea,” said Jonathan Hodgson,

More...