David PerlmutterPresident,, Perlmutter Health Center · Board-Certified Neurologist | Functional Medicine Pioneer | #1 New York Times Best-Selling Author | International Speaker | Host of The Empowering Neurologist Podcast

Your Daily Morning Habit Might Be Protecting Your Brain

13 Apr 2026 · 1 min

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In this brief health‑advice segment, neurologist David Perlmutter emphasizes that the routine of drinking coffee each morning may be one of the most effective, yet simple, strategies for protecting the brain against dementia. He points out that coffee is the single largest source of polyphenols in the American (and global) diet—more than red wine or olive oil—and that these polyphenols have been linked to favorable brain outcomes. Perlmutter advises consuming plain or lightly modified coffee (e.g., black, with organic milk or a low‑calorie sweetener like allulose) while avoiding sugar‑laden specialty drinks, presenting this modest dietary change as a practical intervention for dementia prevention.

Chapters

What a lot of you are doing every single morning is likely really good for your brain. We don't have a cure for dementia, so prevention is certainly the way to go. Turns out that coffee is the number one source of polyphenols in the American diet. It's not red wine, it's not the olive oil, it's coffee. In fact, that's global, that's a global issue. So have your morning cup of coffee, and I'm not saying, you know, these special mixed coffee things that are loaded with sugar that you get at your favorite barista. But the idea that black coffee, or if you want to add some organic milk, that's certainly up to you, maybe some allulose, but this is a dietary intervention that has been associated with really good things for your brain.