Coffee Cutting Stroke Risk

That morning cup of coffee your drinking might do more for you than just wake you up. It could cut your risk of having a stroke.

Coffee might have gotten a bit of a bad rap in the past, but now it looks like one cup a day can help cut your risk of having a stroke.

A new study published in the American Heart Association Journal, researchers followed the coffee drinking habits of over 34 thousand Swedish women between the ages 49 and 83 for 10 years. Those who drank at least one cup a day had a 25% lower risk of stroke. An earlier study found similar results for men.

Researchers didn't look at whether the coffee was caffeinated or not, but most people in Sweden do drink the caffeinated kind. And they aren't sure what in the coffee cuts the risk of a stroke, but think it might be that it's reducing inflammation and improving your body's insulin sensitivity. In the meanwhile, while they search for more answers, they aren't recommending you start drinking now if you never have, but say that if your are drinking it already you may be doing yourself more good than you probably thought.