Study: Coffee May Help Women Keep Depression At Bay

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Your morning cup of coffee could help get rid of the blues. A new study shows coffee could help women lower their chances of getting depressed.

Harvard School of Public Health researchers looked at more than 50,000 women ages 50 to 70 and found women who drank two to three cups of caffeinated coffee a day had a 15 percent decreased risk of depression.

If hey drank four or more cups, they were 20 percent less likely to get depressed.

Dr. Karestan Koenen, of Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, said, "We don't know exactly how that works, but there could be a biological relationship where caffeine affects chemicals in the brain that are implicated in depression."

It is recommended that one check with a doctor before upping one's caffeine intake.

Experts caution that drinking a lot of coffee can also have negative side effects like insomnia.