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# # # # For a long time it was been reported that coffee may be able to reduce the risk of developing Parkinson’s, but the mechansim by which this association could be occurring has remained elusive. Now researchers from South Korea have discovered a biological pathway that could help to explain the protective association. It involves a protein called PARP and a chemical called chlorogenic acid. In today’s post, we will explore the research suggesting a link between coffee and a lower risk of Parkinson’s, discuss what PARP and chlorogenic acid are, and review the new research that may bring all four topics together. # # # # |
Kaldi the goat herder. Source: CoffeeCrossroads
Legend has it that in 800AD, a young Ethiopian goat herder named Kaldi noticed that his animals were “dancing”.
They had been eating some berries from a tree that Kaldi did not recognise, but being a plucky young fellow – and being fascinated by the merry behaviour of his four-legged friends – Kaldi naturally decided to self-experiment by eating some of the berries for himself.
The result?
He became “the happiest herder in happy Arabia” (Source).
This amusing encounter was apparently how humans discovered coffee. It is most likely a fiction as the earliest credible accounts of coffee-consumption emerge from the 15th century in the Sufi shrines of Yemen, but since then coffee has gone on to become one of the most popular drinks in the world.
Fancy a cuppa? Source: Science-All
Interesting, but what does coffee have to do with Parkinson’s?
The Science of Parkinson's 