Caffeine And Cerebral Blood Flow
I’ve already written about caffeine, including my brief review of the controversial book Caffeine Blues, but today, I came across a very short video that is, I think, quite powerful:
(You can find the original video on YouTube here, and if, for any reason, it’s no longer available, you can download an MP4 version of it by right-clicking here.)
Although the video doesn’t talk about what reduced blood flow to the brain (aka cerebral blood flow, or CBF) does, it intrinsically sounds like it’s not a good thing.
And, indeed, it seems as though low CBF does make the brain age faster than it usually would, all other factors being equal, and can affect memory and even lead to dementia.
Other symptoms of low blood flow to the brain include:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Dizzy spells
- Fatigue
- Headaches
- Impaired balance
- Poor concentration
Since there is so much conflicting information about caffeine (at least some of which comes from interested parties – follow the money, as they say), you may be wondering how much credibility the above video actually has.
Well, I was curious too, and found this study from the USA’s National Institutes of Health that discusses how they confirmed that caffeine does lower cerebral blood flow.
But there are, of course, many other causes of reduced CBF, some of which are:
- Anaemia
- Autoimmune and other inflammatory disorders
- Chronic stress
- Diabetes
- Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)
- Hypothyroidism
- Insulin resistance (high blood sugar)
- Smoking
So, what can you do to increase blood flow to the brain?
Well, cutting down on your caffeine intake may be one way, based on the video above, but the usual solutions I recommend for many issues are also worth trying, i.e.:
- Diet, including one that includes more antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids, and certain types of fibre.
- Exercise, even if it’s only a walk once a day.
- Sleep.
In addition, there are studies suggesting that CBD oil (i.e. the non-psychoactive component of cannabis) may also improve cerebral blood flood.
So, while the jury still seems to be out regarding whether coffee and/or caffeine are good for you, or bad for you, or maybe a bit of both depending on the situation, it still makes sense, to me, to limit your consumption of the world’s most widely consumed and largely unregulated psychoactive drug.
