Coffee May Stall Memory Loss in Women

The world’s most popular stimulant may slow age-related memory loss in older women, Reuters reports. Drinking three or more cups of coffee per day reduced verbal memory loss in French women aged 65 and up by 33% compared to women who drank a cup or less, researchers say. The effects were more pronounced in women over 80.

Visual memory loss was also lower in java junkies. Tea drinkers whose caffeine consumption matched the coffee drinkers' intake also benefited, but coffee had no apparent effect on men's memories. The reason for the difference is unclear. "Our best guess is that women don't metabolize coffee in the same way," says one researcher. (More coffee stories.)