Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Coffee may lower stroke risk in women

Drinking coffee may significantly reduce women’s risk of having a stroke, compared to women who drink little to no coffee.

Researchers with the National Institute of Environmental Medicine in Sweden said female coffee drinkers had a 22 to 25 percent lower risk of stroke than abstainers.

The participants in the study who drank coffee reported drinking one to two cups a day, three to four cups or five or more cups daily. The benefits of coffee consumption was about the same among all the java-drinking participants.

The study did not differentiate between caffeinated and decaf coffee, however decaffeinated coffee consumption is uncommon in Sweden.

Potential ways coffee may reduce stroke risk include weakening subclinical inflammation, reducing oxidative stress and improving insulin sensitivity.

A report on the study appears in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.