Yay caffeine!

Photo source: www.icanhascheezburger.com

I knew it. Coffee had to exist for a noble purpose. From a news report from BBC Online:

Caffeine may help older women ward off mental decline, research suggests. French researchers compared women aged 65 and older who drank more than three cups of coffee per day with those who drank one cup or less per day. Those who drank more caffeine showed less decline in memory tests over a four year period. The study, published in the journal Neurology, raises the possibility that caffeine may even protect against the development of dementia. The results held up even after factors such as education, high blood pressure and disease were taken into account.

The report says confusing things about the interpretations of the study: there seems little agreement on whether coffee prevents dementia or slows it down, and whether other lifestyle factors could be linked to the tea- or coffee-drinking. Looks like the reporter could have done with a shot of espresso, hehe.