The Skinny on My Mocha

According to a recent article in More Magazine (subtitle: "smart talk for smart women"), coffee may help women stay sharp. Researchers in France, who I'm sure were drinking those tiny little espressos, smoking and eating cheese, studied the effect of caffeine on 7,000 men and women. Running tests over the course of 4 years, they found that the women who drank the most caffeine (the equivalent to 3 cups or 300 milligrams a day), were better at remembering words and "less likely to lose their nonverbal memory than those who drank less caffeine." They think it has something to do with how the caffeine interacts with "estrogen receptors in the brain". To which I thought, "aaahh, I have estrogen receptors in my brain interacting with a stimulating substance! Great!" Researchers also found that it didn't have any effect on men's cognitive abilities. Bummer for them, although I'm encouraged that it doesn't stimulate testosterone receptors in their brains. Although that would explain the popularity of Starbucks.

My son started working at Starbucks a few months ago, so all this is great news for me. An avowed tea drinker for years (which is NOT the same as being a "teetotaler"), I started drinking coffee only a few years ago when I started working full time. It started with Mochas, which we all know are a gateway drug, and has progressed to Sulawesi Bold (still with non-fat cream & sugar, please). I think it was just a coincidence that my growing fondness for coffee and my new everyday-going-to-work-outside-the-home schedule coincided, but it was a great convergence. And now that we get a free pound of coffee every week, which is more than we drink in...I don't know--I haven't really figured out the timeline yet--but several weeks, I can indulge for significantly less moola. So, bring on the cognitive skills tests! Quiz me on what states Obama won! Ask me the name of that person I met last week! Just don't expect me to drink it black-I don't want to overstimulate my estrogen receptors, you know.