Science

Drinking Tons of Coffee May Lower Your Risk of MS

More, more, more!
More, more, more! Photo: Image Source/Getty Images

Leveling up your caffeine game might have a side benefit beyond possibly preventing cancer or acquiring immortality. Scientists say anyone who passes the six-cups-a-day threshold could be rewarded with a decreased risk of multiple sclerosis.

According to a study by a team of researchers from Sweden and Johns Hopkins, the amount of coffee a person drinks is inversely linked to their risk of MS. They analyzed thousands of participants in two studies and found the people who drank more than six cups per day in one study reduced their risk of getting MS by about 30 percent. Encouragingly, this held true even for people who began drinking the amount of coffee only after their symptoms started. The other study found almost the same thing — the risk of MS was 26 to 31 percent lower among people who drank more than six cups a day, both at the start of symptoms and five or more years beforehand. As a stimulant, caffeine helps stop the production of chemicals that cause inflammation, which researchers say could explain why it may be useful against MS, an inflammatory condition that wreaks havoc on the nervous system.

As always, they caution there’s no definite cause and effect. People could be misremembering their coffee intake through the years, and its positive effects could be caused by something other than caffeine. Either way, people already caffeinating the instant they crawl out of bed might consider adding another couple of pots to their day.

[EurekaAlert!]

Drinking Coffee May Lower Your Risk of MS