I am one of those people who routinely have two to four cups of coffee a day. I like my coffee. I like it so much I've learned to drink it black, or with skim milk, and still like it. But I'm frequently being told by well-meaning friends that coffee drinking is bad for me. I'm glad to say that there's increasing evidence that a moderate intake of coffee, by someone with in overall good general health who exercises regularly is not only not dangerous, it may actually be good for us.
A new study, published in the March 3rd issue of Circulation magazine, asserts that drinking coffee appears to decrease the risk of stroke among women, with greater coffee consumption equating with less risk of stroke. The study tracked over 83,000 women, with an average age of 55 years old. The women all participated in the Nurses' Health Study between 1980 and 2004. The study lasted 42 years, during which time the participating women had nearly 2,300 strokes. Most of the strokes were ischemic strokes, which are strongly tied to blood vessel blockages.
The article notes that smokers do not seem to benefit from whatever protection regular coffee drinking might offer. Women not otherwise at risk (that is, at the start of they study, they had no sign of diabetes, stroke, cancer or heart disease) who indulged in two to three cups of caffeinated coffee per day, had an average risk of any kind of stroke that was l9% percent lower than women who drank less than one cup of coffee in a month. Those who drank four or more cups of coffee in a day lowered their stroke risk to 20%.
Women who never smoked, those women who used to smoke but quit, but who drank four or more cups of coffee a day enjoyed a 43% reduction in their risk of stroke, for all types of stroke. But women with similar patterns of coffee drinking who did smoke, reduced their risk of stroke by a mere 3%.
Since those who participated in the research but drank tea or caffeinated soft drinks instead of coffee did not show any reduction in stroke risk, it is unlikely that it is the caffeine in coffee that potentially confers protective anti-stroke benefits.
What does the study actually mean? Assistant professor Rob M. van Dam of Harvard Medical School says that until we have more data, the study suggests that women can continue to enjoy coffee without being concerned that moderate coffee consumption increases stroke risk, but we should still concentrate on reducing our risk of stroke by quitting smoking, engaging in physical activity regularly, and reducing the amount of salt in our diets.
You can read about the study here.