According to a study, drinking just four cups of tea or coffee per day reduces the risk of developing dementia by more that 25%.
Consuming hot beverages regularly can reduce stroke rates by around a third.
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Researchers discovered that it also reduces the number of dementia cases after a stroke.
These findings were based on a survey of 365,682 British women and men aged 50-74 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.”
Flavonoids, which are plant chemicals that increase blood flow to the brain, are abundant in these drinks.
They reduce inflammation and kill rogue proteins, amyloid-beta, which can cause damage to neurons.
Participants who had two or more cups of coffee daily and the same amount of tea daily were at a lower risk of developing dementia and stroke by 28% and 32%, 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.