Coffee and Parkinson’s Disease: Does Coffee Help Treat or Prevent Parkinson’s?

Parkinson’s disease is a neurological condition that leads to difficulty with movement and coordination. Researchers know that certain genes and environmental exposures, like contact with chemicals and pesticides, put people at higher risk. But there’s still a lot to learn about the connection between Parkinson’s and the everyday things people eat and drink. 

Coffee is a routine part of the day for many people. In fact, it’s the most widely consumed psychoactive substance. And scientists have long debated coffee’s possible benefits for brain health. So researchers have been looking at how it affects the brain and connects to Parkinson’s. It turns out that coffee may help lower the risk of getting Parkinson’s, and it may help lessen symptoms. 

What is Parkinson’s disease?

Parkinson’s disease affects movement, balance, and memory. It’s caused by the loss of special brain cells that produce dopamine. And it likely happens from a combination of genes and environmental exposures. 

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By the time symptoms appear, people with Parkinson’s disease have already lost 60% to 80% of the nerve cells that make dopamine in the substantia nigra (a part of the brain). So prevention and treatment of the condition may be part of the same process

How does coffee affect your risk for Parkinson’s disease?

You may be wondering if coffee can help prevent Parkinson's. Coffee has been shown to reduce the risk for developing Parkinson’s disease by some researchers. The more caffeinated coffee a person drinks, the lower the apparent risk. But, to understand the link between coffee and Parkinson’s disease, it helps to first understand some basics about the condition.

Research on the connection between coffee and Parkinson's disease

Drinking coffee won’t prevent Parkinson’s disease for everyone. But it may help to decrease the risk for some people. In one large study, men who drank more coffee and other caffeinated drinks had a lower risk of Parkinson’s disease than those who didn’t. For women, the lowest risk of Parkinson’s was in the group who drank 1 to 3 cups a day. 

Researchers aren’t sure why there was a difference between men and women. But other studies suggest that caffeine and estrogen may interact with each other. This could increase the risk of Parkinson’s for women who use both caffeine and estrogen replacement.

Most studies of coffee and Parkinson’s disease focus on the effects of caffeine in the brain. But there are more than 1,000 active substances in coffee beans. Some of them have been found to improve brain health as well. And there may be a lower risk of Parkinson’s disease in people who drink tea too. 

Can coffee help treat Parkinson’s disease?

Caffeine might help prevent the loss of brain cells that make dopamine, even after symptoms of Parkinson’s disease begin. And after drinking a typical amount of coffee, people’s brain scans show a higher level of dopamine signals. 

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Some non-caffeine chemicals in coffee also help to protect brain cells from inflammation and damage. This is a benefit in treating Parkinson’s disease, but it also helps with conditions like Alzheimer’s disease.

One study showed that coffee lessened tremors for men who’d never taken medications for Parkinson’s. But for women, there wasn’t much of an effect. Other research suggests that coffee may help with swallowing and walking, but it has little effect on tremors.

Does caffeine interact with carbidopa or levodopa?

Caffeine may interact with certain Parkinson's treatments to help reduce symptoms. The most common medication used to treat Parkinson’s disease is a combination of levodopa and carbidopa. Nerve cells use levodopa to make more dopamine. Carbidopa prevents the breakdown of levodopa until it gets to nerve cells in the brain. This helps with movement problems and tremors. But they don’t prevent the disease from worsening. 

When people take levodopa over time, the medication itself can lead to other types of movement problems. These are involuntary movements (dyskinesia) of the face, limbs, or trunk. Coffee may decrease the risk of dyskinesia for some people who take levodopa.

And levodopa may even work a little better in people who drink coffee. That’s because caffeine blocks receptors that can lead to movement problems in Parkinson’s disease. Coffee may also help to decrease drug tolerance to levodopa. That means that people don’t have to keep taking higher doses to get the same benefits.

Does caffeine worsen a Parkinson’s tremor?

Some people’s hands shake a bit after drinking coffee or other types of caffeine. But the tremors that occur with Parkinson’s happen because of a different process in the body. For most people who have the condition, caffeine doesn’t really affect tremors.

Is decaf coffee better for Parkinson’s disease?

Caffeine affects everyone in different ways. Some people avoid caffeine because they’re sensitive to its side effects. But by itself, having Parkinson’s disease doesn’t seem to be a reason to completely avoid caffeine. 

One large study showed a lower risk for Parkinson’s disease with regular coffee, but not with decaf. Yet other research suggests that decaf may also reduce the risk. So this one is still up for debate.

Can you prevent Parkinson's?

Researchers don’t fully understand what causes Parkinson’s to happen. If it runs in your family, it may be especially difficult to avoid Parkinson’s disease. 

But there are some ways to lower your risk of developing it — or to help you manage it better. These include:

• Eat a whole-food, plant-based diet. Follow the USDA MyPlate Program.

• Avoid exposure to chemicals at home and in the workplace. 

• Engage in exercise for balance, flexibility, strength, and aerobic fitness.

• Maintain a comfortable weight.

• Manage stress. Stress has been shown to increase inflammation, which can speed up neural cell loss.

Even if you live a perfectly healthy life, Parkinson’s may still develop. But being healthy may help you slow down the progression and manage Parkinson’s symptoms better.

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Written by:

Anne Jacobson, MD, MPH

Anne Jacobson, MD, MPH has been a board-certified family physician since 1999. She worked as a full-scope family physician (inpatient, outpatient, obstetrics, and office procedures) in the Cook County Ambulatory Health Network for 15 years.

Edited by:

Karla Robinson, MD

Karla Robinson, MD, is a medical editor for GoodRx. She is a licensed, board-certified family physician with almost 20 years of experience in health through varied clinical, administrative, and educational roles.

Reviewed by:

Frank Schwalbe, MD

Frank Schwalbe, MD, is an assistant professor of anesthesiology at the Yale School of Medicine. He has practiced anesthesiology for 30 years.

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