Saturday, February 21, 2009

Yes, I’ll Have Another Cup of Coffee

Updated 3/2017-- all links (except to my own posts) removed as many no longer active. and it was easier than checking each one. 

Like many people, I love coffee, so it was nice to see this article on the "coffee consumption of women" published online before print in the February 16 issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. 
My family has a history of stroke and high blood pressure, so I was even happier to find that my coffee drinking helps protect me from strokes. 
So, yes, I’ll have another cup of coffee.
Dr Esther Lopez-Garcia and colleagues analyzed data from a prospective group of 83 076 women in the Nurses' Health Study. At the beginning of the study none of the women had any history of stroke, coronary heart disease, diabetes, or cancer. The researchers first assessed coffee consumption in 1980 and then followed up every 2 to 4 years through 2004.
They found coffee drinking to be linked to a modest reduction of stroke risk among women. Drinking three cups of coffee a day reduced the risk by nearly 20 per cent compared to drinking less than one cup of coffee a month. 
Yes, I’ll have another cup of coffee.
The study documented the number and types of strokes that occurred in these women during the years 1980 – 2004. A total of 2280 strokes occurred (426 were hemorrhagic, 1224 were ischemic, and 630 were undetermined).
The relative risks of stroke decreased as the amount of coffee consumed went up. The relative risk of stroke in a woman who drank less than one cup per month was noted to be 0.98 compared to a relative risk of 0.81 for a woman who drank 2 to 3 cups of coffee per day.
The noted protection held even in women with high blood pressure, hypercholesterolemia, type 2 diabetes, and smokers. Other drinks containing caffeine such as tea and caffeinated soft drinks were not associated with stroke.
I’ll pass on the coke, but I’ll have another cup of coffee.


Source
Coffee Consumption and Risk of Stroke in Women;
Esther Lopez-Garcia, Fernando Rodriguez-Artalejo, Kathryn M. Rexrode, Giancarlo Logroscino, Frank B. Hu, and Rob M. van Dam.; Circulation published online before print February 16, 2009. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.108.826164


8 comments:

Unknown said...

I suspect you wrote this while sipping your morning coffee, just as I read it while sipping my morning coffee. Drink on!

rlbates said...

Yes, and am sipping my coffee even now. :)

Dreaming again said...

whoo hoo!! I had a doctor who was *VERY* anti coffee. She rode me about my coffee every time she saw me. I've since dropped her like a hot potato(this was actually the least of the reasons) but it's nice to know she was totally wrong and I was right to keep drinking!

Yes, I'll take another cup thank you!

Øystein said...

Morning coffee is one of the better things in life. I suspect our bodies keep away from strokes in pure self interest. To absorb yet another cup :)

ER's Mom said...

WOO!!! Coffee is liquid gold for those of us on odd schedules.

I'm finishing up cup #2 for the morning...

DrB said...

This post, although nice, saddens me, Ramona. I used to love coffee--all throughout the day. (And I have a family history of stroke, to boot.)

I also get migraines. About 3 months ago, I stopped drinking coffee and have not had a migraine since. I have found that even green tea (which has minimal caffeine) will give me a headache. I have talked to my neurologist, and he confirmed that yes, there are some people that get affected by caffeine to the point of migraines. I have been able to taper my maintenance migraine meds and will soon be off of them, that is true, but I do miss my coffee. :(

rlbates said...

Dr B that would sadden me too. Still I'm happy you've found a way to improve your migraines.

Jabulani said...

Wayhay!!! This is another reason to LOVE your blog :). I wonder if it works for decaff coffee too? I drink around 4-5 cups of decaff cappuccino a day and a similar amount of normal coffee. Hey ... I already admitted in my blog I was addicted to coffee ;). If anyone ever gives me aggro about my coffee consumption, I'm going to point them in the direction of this post!

By the way DrB, I would be gutted if I had to give up coffee. However, I am mollified that I could instantly replace it with rooibos (South African) tea. It has no caffeine and a totally different taste to English tea (which to my taste buds is bitter and revolting). Rooibos is sweeter, but ... well, you have to try it to decide what the taste is. I love it. And it's a perfectly acceptable coffee substitute.