Thursday, October 31, 2002


ladies, improve your memory now!

a fascinating new study from the university of california suggests that drinking coffee on a long-term basis improves womens' memory in later life. the women in the research averaged a healthy 73. that's right ladies, drink your coffee now to prevent senility later.

"it is biologically plausible that caffeine lessens age-related cognitive decline," dr. marilyn johnson-kozlow reports in the november issue of the american journal of epidemiology. "lifetime and current exposure to caffeine may be associated with better cognitive performance among women, especially among those aged 80 or more years."

while men participated in the study, they did not appear to gain any memory benefits from our favorite beverage. "gender differences may be due to pharmacodynamic differences in sensitivity to caffeine effects between men and women," kozlow says.

poor men -- biology dooms them to mental senescence, apparently. these razor-sharp old ladies drank anywhere from a cup a month to up to 5 cups a day over time, with the heavy coffee drinkers receiving the most memory benefit.

however, dear readers, please note that i personally don't recommend women of child-bearing age drink more than 3 cups a day -- more than that level of caffeine may lessen your fertility, according to a 1995 study i have cited here previously.

what chocolate will you be enjoying this all hallow's eve? it's unseasonably cold here in new york today, which makes me think that after trick-or-treating, some may want to curl up with a nice cup of real hot chocolate. myself, i will be enjoying the holiday with a few choice bites from richard donnelly. his marbled brownies are light, airy, almost mousse-y. . .yum.

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