Smart people are drinking coffee: Drinking coffee makes you smarter

Do you drink coffee because you're smart (and also charming, funny, and well-rounded), or are you smart because you drink coffee? It's a real chicken-and-egg problem, and new research only complicates the issue further.

According to Inc, research into the cognitive effects of coffee suggests that drinking your favorite beverage — as well as tea and chocolate — may actually make you smarter.

This isn’t the only study to have made this point. Multiple studies exploring the neuroscience of caffeine have found numerous benefits of coffee and caffeine for brain health and resilience.

A new study conducted jointly by the National Institute on Aging and Johns Hopkins University confirms something we've reported in the media before: Caffeine shows signs of protecting the brain from the effects of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's .

This is due to the fact that methylxanthines — “a class of compounds found in coffee” — promote “sustained cognitive performance and protect neurons from dysfunction and death.”

The study also found that xanthine metabolites produced when the brain processes caffeine "may contribute to (coffee's) beneficial effects."

Additionally, a meta-analysis of 11 previous studies published in the World Journal of Surgical Oncology found that coffee and tea may not only reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease, but also the risk of brain cancer.

Finally, a study from Okayama University found that the coffee compounds caffeic acid (CA) and chlorogenic acid (CGA) have antioxidant properties, specifically on the glial glands, and “prevent rotenone-induced neurodegeneration in the brain and myenteric plexus.” Inc breaks it down to layman’s terms: “ Caffeine makes your brain more flexible and resilient. ”

So if you want to be as smart as me, drink some coffee every day, 1-3 cups a day, drink it up 🙂