Tea and coffee Linked to Lower Risk of Stroke and Dementia

Drinking Tea and Coffee has become trendy not only for their exceptional flavours but their reported health benefits. Now, the latest scientific research indicates that your morning cuppa could reduce the risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease.

This will undoubtedly be good news for the estimated 750,000 people in the UK alone who currently live with these conditions in one form or another. 

While not a fix-all solution to cognitive decline, we intend to explore the potential in the following article, so please keep reading to find out more information.

Once you’ve learned the facts and figures, you can buy Loose Leaf Tea and Coffee here at The Kent and Sussex Tea and Coffee Company. Since our establishment in 1982, our family-run business has packed its products fresh to order.

What is Dementia?

A common misconception is that dementia refers to a specific disease. The reality is that it is a general term for the impaired ability to remember, think, or make decisions, typically interfering with everyday activities.

Alzheimer’s Disease is the most likely variety of dementia to develop for numerous reasons. Despite its widespread association with elderly adults, it is not a part of the normal ageing process. 

Symptoms of dementia include issues with memory, attention, communication, reasoning, judgement, problem solving and visual perception. It can be related to age, family history, race/ethnicity, poor heart health or even a traumatic brain injury.

Sadly, Alzheimer’s Disease has no cure, though medications and lifestyle changes can help protect the brain or manage the condition. But what about Tea and Coffee?

Study Reveals Tea and Coffee’s Dementia-Fighting Ability

Evidence gathered by researchers from Tianjin Medical University, China, has shown that people who drink Tea and Coffee are seemingly less likely to suffer from a stroke. The study went further to recognise that a combination of Tea and Coffee could reduce the risk of post-stroke dementia. A total of 365,682 people aged between 50 and 74 took part in the project for more than a decade. 

The volunteers self-reported how much Tea and Coffee they consumed daily over the ten-year period. Despite 10,053 participants having at least one stroke during the study, the chance of suffering from one appeared to be dramatically reduced amongst frequent consumers. Indeed, those who drank 2-3 cups of Coffee and 2-3 cups of Tea daily had a 32% lower risk of a stroke and, in turn, dementia. 

The question now is, why did it work? Dr Scott Kaiser, director of Geriatric Cognitive Health for the Pacific Neuroscience Institute at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in California, can explain the details. He said:

‘While caffeine is certainly a key common denominator, Coffee and Tea are both derived from plants with many... beneficial chemical compounds, including powerful antioxidants.’

Antioxidants are a natural form of defence in the body, as well as being found in a variety of nutritional foods and drinks. They work by combating free radicals, which are unpaired (and unstable) electrons introduced through a process known as oxidative stress. By neutralising free radicals and slowing oxidative stress, antioxidants reduce the risk of several chronic conditions - not least dementia.

Potential Side Effects and Risks of Overconsumption

Exciting news though it might be on the surface, it’s essential to remember that these findings remain in their preliminary stages. In other words, it’s too early to say how much of an impact drinking Tea and Coffee has on dementia. What’s more, experts involved in the study noted that the volunteers were a ‘healthy sample’ and may not reflect the entire population accurately. 

There is also the risk of too much of your favourite brew having the opposite effect, as pointed out by several health professionals. This includes Professor Kevin McConway of the Open University, who, while not involved in the study, urged caution. He said:

‘Once the Coffee consumption got up to seven or eight cups a day, the stroke risk was greater than for people who drank no Coffee.’

Summary of Tea and Coffee for Dementia

Putting the kettle on time and again can do more than benefit your taste buds. Evidence from a Chinese study indicates that it likewise reduces stroke risks and lowers your chance of dementia as a result. Just don’t expect it to work miracles - always take the advice of your doctors first and foremost. All that’s left, it would seem, is to buy Tea and Coffee from the Kent and Sussex Tea and Coffee Company.

Author: Richard Smith

Partner at The Kent and Sussex Tea and Coffee Company

Richard Smith is a Tea expert, entrepreneur, and owner of The Kent and Sussex Tea and Coffee Company. Part of a family of renowned Tea planters dating back four generations, he was born in Calcutta (Kolkata), India, where he spent his childhood between Tea Estates in Assam and Darjeeling.

In the late 1970s, having accumulated years of knowledge in the industry, Mr Smith and his mother, Janet Smith, moved to Kent, South East England, to establish a Tea business in the village of Pluckley. Their early days of packing Tea Bags by hand from chests of 10,000 prompted the creation of the company’s flagship infusion known as Pluckley Tea. It remains our most popular product today.

Mr Smith, who studied economics at London Polytechnic, has since specialised in over 1,000 types of Loose Leaf Tea - in addition to around 70 varieties of Roast Coffee - from around the world. These are now available at The Kent and Sussex Tea and Coffee Company, where everything is still packed by hand and fresh to order, not only to honour tradition but to ensure the utmost quality and consistency.