How many cups of coffee should you drink to prevent dementia?
A new study has found the recommended amount of coffee and tea a day that can prevent dementia and stroke.
Cup of coffee (photo credit: INGIMAGE)
How many cups of coffee and tea should you drink a day? Apparently there isn’t one set answer to this question. Yet, a new study has found the recommended amount of coffee and tea a day that can prevent dementia and stroke.
As
the weather cools down from summer into fall, many people start to
drink more hot drinks every day, such as several cups of coffee or tea.
Now a new study involving hundreds of thousands of participants over 10 years has found that your cup of coffee or tea may be associated with a lower risk of stroke and dementia.
Tea and coffee may be linked to lower risk of stroke and dementia – study, Nov 17, 2021
Of the more than 360,000 participants studied over a period of 10 to 14 years, those who drank two to three cups of coffee,
three to five cups of tea, or a combination of four to six cups of
coffee and/or tea a day, had the lowest risk of stroke and dementia,
according to researchers from Tianjin Medical University, China.
"Our
findings suggest that moderate consumption of coffee and tea, alone or
in combination, is associated with a lower risk of stroke and dementia,"
the study authors said.
Drinking coffee or tea alone was also associated with a lower risk
of both conditions, but people who drank two to three cups of coffee and
two to three cups of tea daily - four to six cups in total - were 28%
less likely to develop dementia and 32% less likely to have a stroke
compared to those who didn’t drink these beverages.
Participants'
information came from UK Biobank, a database of anonymous health
information from half a million volunteers in the UK collected between
2006 and 2020, which included participants aged 50 to 74 who
self-reported their coffee and tea consumption.
According to the study, published in PLOS Medicine, during the study
period, 5,079 participants developed dementia and 10,053 experienced at
least one stroke.
(Credit: Ingimage)
Everything in caffeine
This of course is not the first study linking drinking tea or
coffee to our health. For example, a 2021 study using the British
Biobank showed that for people without a diagnosis of heart disease,
regular consumption of half to three cups of coffee a day is associated
with a reduced risk of death from heart disease, stroke and early death
for any reason compared to those who don’t drink coffee.
Several studies have also shown that three cups of coffee a day can reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease.
According to the British Alzheimer's Association, coffee containing
caffeine can help the brain in several ways by increasing the
production of granulocyte colonies (white blood cells) that help protect
and repair brain cells connected with the nervous system.
Because this is a study that relies on self-reporting there are limitations to the accuracy of the data.
Dr. Lee H. Schwamm, chairman of the American Stroke Association
Advisory Committee and a neurologist at the Massachusetts General
Hospital, told CNN that researchers can’t definitively say that drinking
more coffee or tea is good for your brain. Yet, they can say that in
this study, people who reported moderate coffee/tea drinking were less
likely to have a stroke or dementia during the 10 years of follow-up,
Schwam added.
(Credit: Ingimage)
Moderation is the name of the game
The results of the latest study may indicate some benefits of
drinking coffee and tea, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone
should start drinking more cups of coffee and tea during the day.
"Not
all coffee drinks have the same amount of caffeine, and people value a
cup of coffee or tea differently. In any case, it's worth remembering
that it's best to consume most things in moderation," Schwam said. "If
you avoid caffeinated beverages, there may be a good reason for it.”
He
added that there is no evidence showing it’s beneficial to start
drinking coffee or tea. Instead, he said, people should enjoy their
morning coffee, and drinking a few more cups during the day was fine,
too.
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