As dedicated coffee drinker, I don’t really need more reasons to drink more of the heavenly drink! There are some negatives for some, like difficulty getting to sleep after drinking regular coffee, but more studies seem to show benefits from coffee, both from regular, and also from decaffe. A recent study by the University of Illinois now shows that caffeine may block inflammation linked to mild cognitive impairment

“We have discovered a novel signal that activates the brain-based inflammation associated with neurodegenerative diseases, and caffeine appears to block its activity. This discovery may eventually lead to drugs that could reverse or inhibit mild cognitive impairment,” said Gregory Freund, a professor in the U of I’s College of Medicine and a member of the U of I’s Division of Nutritional Sciences.

Freund’s team examined the effects of caffeine on memory formation in two groups of mice—one group given caffeine, the other receiving none. The two groups were then exposed to hypoxia, simulating what happens in the brain during an interruption of breathing or blood flow, and then allowed to recover.