Coffee or Tea please! Your brain will thank you in the long run

Getting a few cups of tea or coffee may not be all bad as a new study claims that these beverages may be associated with a lower risk of stroke and dementia. The study published in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine observed healthy individuals between the ages of 50 to 74.

First, let’s understand the difference between stroke, dementia and post-stroke dementia. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States, a stroke occurs when blood supply to the brain gets blocked or when a blood vessel in the brain bursts. In either case, the affected parts of the brain get damaged or wither away. Dementia, on the other hand, is a general term for symptoms related to declining brain function. Post-stroke dementia is a condition where symptoms of dementia occur after a stroke.

The study

Researchers at Tianjin Medical University in China studied 365,682 participants from the UK Biobank who were recruited between 2006 and 2010 and followed until 2020. At the outset participants self-reported their coffee and tea intake. Over the study period, 5,079 participants developed dementia and 10,053 experienced at least one stroke.

• Those who drank 3-5 cups of coffee or tea per day had the lowest incidence of stroke or dementia
• Those who drank 2-3 cups per day were at a 32% lower risk compared with those who drank neither coffee nor tea

Therefore, it's possible that moderate consumption of coffee and tea might be protective against brain disorders. 

Also watch: How bad is 'discrimination' for your mental health? This study has a few things to say