New Scientific Breakthrough Shows Considerable Decrease in Stroke, Dementia Risk With Coffee and Tea Consumption

According to recent research from the peer-reviewed, open-source medical journal PLOS Medicine, there just may be more benefits to drinking coffee and tea than we initially realized. In addition to giving you an extra boost of energy in the morning, increasing your metabolism and helping you maintain a trim and lean body weight, and even aiding in meal digestion, drinking a cup or two of these hot beverages each day can also reduce your risk of developing dementia or having a stroke later in life, too.

For many of us, staying healthy at all stages of life is a key goal of ours, and it's no doubt one that we take very seriously. Between trying to eat a fairly nutritious and balanced diet, sneaking in exercise whenever we can, and avoiding dangerous lifestyle risks (such as smoking or excessive alcohol consumption), it can seem as though we have an uphill battle ahead of us when it comes to warding off disease. 

If something as simple as sipping coffee and tea can have a notable effect on our overall wellness, though, then why wouldn't you want to partake in it every once in a while? But before you rush out and stock up on several pounds of coffee beans and loose-leaf tea leaves and start brewing yourself a cup, it's important to first take a closer look at the specific study that brought us these optimistic and promising results.

What Were the Results of the Study?

It's no secret that tea has been the golden child of good-for-us drinks in recent years. Ever since the studies started coming out, each hailing the numerous health benefits of green and black tea, the popularity of this beverage has understandably surged in popularity. For instance, the polyphenols found in tea leaves have been shown to help with essential antibody development, improving your overall immune system and dramatically slashing your risk of infection, illness, and disease. 

However, discovering that coffee can also be beneficial comes as somewhat of a surprise, especially since that delicious cup of joe that most of us like to savor tends to have a little bit of a bad rap. Nonetheless, the results of the study were fairly straightforward. Researchers from Tianjin Medical University followed greater than 365,000 subjects during the duration of the study, all of whom were recruited for it between the years 2006 and 2010, up until 2020. 

The participants were requested to self-report their coffee and tea intake during the study to the researchers. Of these subjects, just over 5,000 of them wound up developing dementia and slightly more than 10,000 of them had one or more strokes during this period. According to the research, the more coffee and tea you drink, the better. Participants who had between two and three cups of coffee per day, or between three to five cups of tea, had the lowest overall risk of having a stroke or developing dementia. 

Compared to the subjects who had no tea or coffee, they had a 32 percent lower chance of having a stroke and a 28 percent reduced risk of developing dementia. It's important to note that a combination of both tea and coffee, totaling an average of four to six cups per day, also helped. As long as the participants partook in either of these beverages, they noticed a stark decrease in both of these serious health conditions.

What's the Best Way to Drink Coffee and Tea?

That said, it's important to note that not all coffee and tea drinks are the same, and there's a world of difference between a steaming mug of black coffee or unsweetened tea and chugging down those blended, sugar-laden frozen concoctions from your favorite cafe. The fact is, sugar is known to be inflammatory and has been linked to several health concerns, such as diabetes, cancer, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and obesity. 

Adding it to your coffee and tea can quickly backfire, leading to detrimental outcomes instead of the beneficial ones that you seek. Instead, you should try to drink them without sweeteners. Or, if you can't tolerate the taste of it in its pure state, perhaps a splash of milk or teaspoon of honey can take the bitter edge of the drink, making it more palatable. You do want to be sure to moderate how much you use, though, as you don't want to counteract the health benefits of your beverage.

The Bottom Line

Staying healthy can be challenging. Even if you seemingly do everything right, there's still a vast assortment of other things that can impact your wellbeing. Some of them, like your genetics or medical history, can be harder to control. But if enjoying coffee and tea can have such a profound impact, then this can be a relatively simple change to implement. As long as you endeavor to stay on track in all other aspects of your life, then you can find yourself reaping the benefits of good health for many years to come.