Coffee May Lower Women's Stroke Risk

Good news for committed coffee drinkers: For women, a cup a day may lower stroke risk, a study suggests. In the 10-year Swedish study, women who drank at least a cup daily had a 22% to 25% lower stroke risk than those who had less or none. So java drinkers, "rejoice," said a Mayo Clinic doctor. "Coffee is often made out to be potentially bad for your heart. There really hasn't been any study that convincingly said coffee is bad."

“If you are drinking coffee now, you may be doing some good and you are likely not doing harm,” she noted. On the other hand, some doctors point out that the study doesn’t prove coffee actually lowers stroke risk—it just shows that coffee drinkers tend to have a lower risk, the AP notes. So if you’re not a coffee drinker, don’t feel compelled to become one, they say. “These sorts of epidemiological studies are compelling but they don't prove cause,” says a cardiologist. Click for more coffee-is-good-for-you news. (More coffee stories.)