Coffee may prevent mental health conditions

Women who drink at least two cups of coffee each day are less likely to suffer from depression, according to new family health research.

The findings, published in Archives of Internal Medicine, suggest the caffeine found in the drink may alter the brain’s chemistry. Decaffeinated coffee did not have the same effect.

While the scientists have said it is too soon to start urging women to drink more coffee, they have called for further studies to be conducted so that family health links between caffeine and depression can be better understood.

Professor Bertil Fredholm, an expert in pharmacology at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, said the discovery was reassuring for coffee lovers.

“Despite valiant efforts to show how dangerous coffee is for us, it is not proving so. Drunk in moderation, the evidence is strong that it is not one of the things we do that is going to damage your health,” he added.

Last month, Poppy Brett, director of Life Cycle UK, said riding a bicycle offers an “excellent” form of exercise that can also help reduce stress and relieve depression.

Posted by Libby Ward