“Our findings suggest that moderate consumption of coffee and tea separately or in combination were associated with lower risk of stroke and dementia,” the researchers wrote.
Cognitive benefits of coffee and tea
For the study, the researchers analyzed data from more than 365,000 participants enrolled in the U.K. Biobank. The participants self-reported on their coffee and tea consumption, and the researchers tracked their health outcomes for at least 10 years.
These findings highlight some good news for consumers who are frequent tea and coffee drinkers. Having at least two cups of coffee or three cups of tea, or a combination of both drinks, was associated with the most protective health benefits for the study participants.
Overall, drinking two to three cups of coffee and two to three cups of tea on a daily basis was associated with a more than 30% lower risk of stroke and a nearly 30% lower risk of dementia. Coffee was found to have the greatest health benefits; drinking just coffee or coffee and tea helped lower the risk of post-stroke dementia.
The researchers hypothesize that the antioxidants and other bioactive compounds found in coffee and tea could be responsible for this positive relationship with consumers’ cognitive health. Moving forward, the team hopes these findings can be beneficial in identifying more ways to prevent significant health risks and cognitive decline.
“Despite advances in understanding the pathophysiology of stroke and dementia, clinical treatment of stroke and dementia continues to be suboptimal,” the researchers wrote. “Therefore, identifying the preventable risk factors for stroke and dementia is of high priority.
“From a public health perspective, because regular tea and coffee drinkers comprise such a large proportion of the population and because these beverages tend to be consumed habitually through adult life, even small potential health benefits or risks associated with tea and coffee intake may have important public health implications.”