Too Much Coffee, Soda May Raise Your Risk of Stroke, but Tea May Lower It

What you eat and drink can have a big impact on your blood vessels when it comes to cardiovascular health.
Frequent consumption of carbonated beverages and fruit juice increased the risk of stroke, one analysis found. Another showed that drinking more than four cups of coffee a day also increased the risk of stroke, while tea lowered the risk.
“As a doctor and as someone who has researched the risk of stroke, we would encourage people to avoid or minimize their consumption of fizzy and fruit drinks and to consider switching to water instead,” Andrew Smyth, PhD, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology at the University of Galway in Ireland, who was the lead researcher for both studies, said in a release.

Stroke is the leading cause of death in the United States
A stroke occurs when a blood vessel that carries blood to the brain is either blocked by a clot or ruptures. As a result, part of the brain can’t get the blood and oxygen it needs, which leads to brain cells dying.
The link between fruit juice, soda, and stroke risk
In one analysisTrusted Source, researchers found that drinking up to one carbonated beverage a day — either sugar-sweetened or artificially sweetened — was linked to a 22% increased overall risk of stroke. The risk increased sharply for people who consumed two or more of these drinks a day.

Consuming up to one fruit juice a day was linked to a 37% increased risk of a stroke. For two fruit juices a day, this stroke risk tripled.
Females had the highest risk of stroke linked to fruit juice or drinks, researchers found.
The link between coffee, tea, and stroke risk
The other analysis showed that drinking more than four cups of coffee a day was linked to a 37% higher overall risk of stroke and a 32% higher risk of stroke due to a clot. There was no increased stroke risk for lower levels of coffee consumption.

قهIn contrast, drinking more than four cups of tea a day was linked to a 19% lower risk of all types of stroke and stroke due to a clot, as well as a 22% lower risk of stroke due to bleeding.
The benefits varied slightly for different types of tea.
Drinking three to four cups a day of black tea — such as Earl Grey or Breakfast teas — was linked to a 29% overall lower risk of stroke.
Green tea, consumed three to four cups a day, was linked to a 27% lower overall risk of stroke.