Daily coffee 'lowers stroke risk' Dr Yoshihiro Kokubo, lead author of the study, published in the journal Stroke, said: "The regular action of drinking tea, coffee, largely benefits cardiovascular health because it partly keeps blood clots from forming." Their results for coffee were similar to that of "study of studies," presented at a European conference last May, which found that one to three cups a daily was associated with a 14 per cent reduction. For three to six cups, there appeared to be a similar although weaker association, but there was no benefit from drinking six or more. Exactly why coffee and green tea appears to lower stroke risk is unclear, although antioxidants are thought to be at work. However, the science is by no means cut and dried. Caffeine raises blood pressure, and there have been indications that too much coffee can raise stroke risk because of this. Dr Dale Webb, from the Stroke Association said: "We welcome this study which suggests that the benefits of antioxidants in coffee and green tea may offset the potential harm from caffeine. The results demonstrate higher consumption of green tea and coffee might reduce the risks for stroke, especially for inter-cerebral haemorrhage. We would like to see further research to understand the underlying biological mechanisms for these findings. Every year about 150,000 people in Britain have a stroke.