Researchers in China announced that consuming either tea or coffee may lower your risk of stroke and dementia.

Tianjin Medical University released a study today revealing that healthy individuals between the ages of 50 and 74 who drank two to three cups of either coffee or tea per day — or a combination of four to six cups of both per day — recorded the lowest incidence of stroke and dementia among 365,682 participants.

The researchers studied people, who self-reported their coffee and tea intake, from the UK Biobank who were recruited between 2006 and 2010 and followed until 2020. 

When compared to those who drank neither, the tea and coffee consumers had a 32 percent lower risk of stroke and a 28 percent lower chance of dementia.

The researchers also discovered that drinking coffee alone or in combination with tea was linked to a lower risk of post-stroke dementia.

The benefits of coffee & tea

According to Healthline, the health benefits of coffee and tea extend beyond the obvious caffeine connection.

“While caffeine is certainly a key common denominator, coffee and tea are both derived from plants with many, many potentially beneficial chemical compounds, including powerful antioxidants,” said Dr. Scott Kaiser, a health expert in Santa Monica, California.

“An extensive and growing body of research demonstrates the brain health benefits of certain foods — especially those rich in antioxidants and other ‘neuroprotective’ compounds,” Kaiser told Healthline. “For example, in several studies, higher levels of flavonoid intake have been associated with a reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease," pointing out that coffee and tea are amongst the top sources for flavonoid.

According to the authors of the study, the UK Biobank represents a healthier demographic than the general population, which may limit the capacity to generalize the correlations between coffee and tea and their potential advantages.

Furthermore, just a small percentage of the participants in the study had dementia or a stroke, which the researchers acknowledge could make extrapolating rates to wider groups challenging.