If you are one of the many women out there who loves your daily coffee, then the good news for you is that your brew of choice may be lowering your risk of stroke as we speak! Research has shown that women who are drinking around 6 cups of joe a week were 12% less at risk than their sisters out there who were drinking one cup of coffee per month. So what I am telling you is that not only is coffee delicious and caffeinated, but it is also keeping your ticker safe, and that is great news for all women out there! Harvard Medical School actually conducted this study over 24 years and recently published their findings.

Contrary what you may assume, the heart protection in coffee for women is not because of the caffeine content after all. When studies were compared with women who drank tea or other caffeinated drinks, the same benefits did not hold to be true. So we are looking at the coffee bean itself to be the unique source behind this heart protection- meaning that you can't down a few Red Bulls per day and expect the same benefit of reduced stroke risk. What the experts decided is that the health and heart benefits of coffee are attributed the the antioxidants found in your java you so love to sip. These said antioxidants are actually know to improve the circulation in your blood vessels and lessen inflammation. It also seemed that those women drinking a few more cups per day still had the lowest risk for stroke. When compared to the women out there who again downed only one cup per month, the women who drank up to four cups of coffee a day had a lowered stroke risk of 20%.

The study still did point out that these helpful affects of coffee only go hand in hand with women observing an otherwise healthy lifestyle. Meaning that you cannot still entertain bad habits like smoking and lack of exercise and expect coffee to be your magic potion to prevent stroke. That would be wonderful in a perfect world, but the antioxidant benefits of coffee will only be useful to you when you are combining them with an already healthy lifestyle. If you are currently suffering from other conditions like high blood pressure and insomnia, then several cups of coffee a day may simply add to the problem.

Overall, when you are looking to benefit your health and still enjoy your favorite beverage daily, the good news is that coffee can be a large part of promoting health and reducing stroke risk in women. If you begin to make small lifestyle changes like quitting smoking and incorporating exercise into your life, then you will soon notice the added benefits of the antioxidants in your java that will be protecting your heart. Now your coffee habit can be guilt free, as it should be, when you know that every sip is packed full of antioxidants that are truly protecting your heart. I'll drink to that!