Love coffee? Well, you could possibly be lowering your risk of stroke when you drink it, according to study of nearly 35,000 women published Thursday in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.
The study found that those who drank more than one cup of coffee a day had a 22% to 25% lowered risk of stroke, compared with women who drank less than that amount. In fact, NOT drinking coffee could be more harmful than helpful — the study also found that drinking little or no coffee was actually associated with a slight increase in stroke risk.
"Some women have avoided consuming coffee because they have thought it is unhealthy," said head of the study Susanna Larsson of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. "In fact, increasing evidence indicates that moderate coffee consumption may decrease the risk of some diseases such as diabetes, liver cancer and possibly stroke."
The study tracked participants in Sweden in a long-term study focusing on the associations between diet, lifestyle and disease. Researchers collected data on women’s coffee consumption and incidence of stroke between 1998 and 2008. And, in fact, they found that avid coffee drinkers (those who drank more than one cup daily), had a significantly lower risk of stroke — even after accounting for other lifestyle factors such as smoking, drinking, weight, diabetes and blood pressure.
The authors note that their findings are preliminary and people shouldn’t alter their coffee-drinking habits just yet.
Still, this is one big step in the right direction for caffeine junkies!
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