A study shows that drinking four cups of coffee or tea per day can reduce dementia risk by more than 25%.
Consuming hot beverages regularly can reduce stroke rates by around a third.
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The researchers also found that this reduces the incidence of dementia following stroke.
These results are based on a study that covered 365,682 British men & women aged 50 to 75 over the course of 15 years.
Dr Yuan Zhang, Tianjin Medical University (China), said: “Moderate consumption of coffee and tea separately or in combination were associated with lower risk of stroke and dementia.”
These drinks are high in flavonoids, plant chemicals that boost blood flow to brain.
They can also reduce inflammation and destroy amyloid beta, which is a rogue protein that damages neurons.
Participants who consumed two to three cups of coffee or the same amount of tea each day had a 28% and 32% lower risk of stroke and dementia, respectively.
Dementia affects 920,000 people in the UK — a figure that will rise to two million by 2050. Stroke kills 38,000 people each year.