NICK WALKER / Scroll
Zack Zavoral, a junior from Sacramento, Calif., fills up a mug with his favorite caffeinated beverage at Horkleys. Students often buy caffeine to stay alert and awake, not for potential health benefits.

Researchers have reported that high amounts of caffeine and coffee daily may help prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

“Caffeine is the most widely used psychoactive drug in the world. We think it might protect against Alzheimer’s,” said researcher Gary Arendash in a statement from the Byrd Alzheimer’s institute.

So where do these studies leave members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who are told to abstain from drinking coffee in the Word of Wisdom?

Fred Pearson of the Health Science department said that breaking the Word of Wisdom to follow the study will not help the prevention of Alzheimer’s.

“The world sees caffeine as a way [to fix problems]. They just don’t see what we see in the Church,” Pearson said.

According to Pearson, caffeine increases the speed and effectiveness of serotonin. Serotonin is what makes the body wake up in the morning and retain information.

The caffeine may enhance the brain’s ability with procedures such as memory and the recognition of pain for a short time.

But, Pearson said, long-term increased levels and speeds of serotonin traveling across the synapses (the space between nerve endings), which is what caffeine does to serotonin, will eventually damage the synapses, resulting in Alzheimer’s.

“The synapse will be worn out because of the high levels of serotonin,” Pearson said. “After a while [the synapses] will become oversensitive.”

Because the synapses become so oversensitive, “It literally stops the control of the nerve and your body,” Pearson said.

Though research is moving forward on the effects of caffeine, the results still have not been confirmed on whether or not caffeine does make a difference in preventing Alzheimer’s disease.
Studies on the effects of marijuana on Alzheimer’s disease are also in the works.