Coffee and tea: A perfect blend for stroke prevention

Recent research from Japan's National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Centre has shown that one cup of coffee combined with two cups of green tea daily can reduce your risk of stroke by a third. The study showed that when one cup of coffee per day was drunk without any green tea, the risk of stroke reduced by 20 per cent. If you were to just drink green tea without the coffee, three cups daily demonstrated a stroke risk reduction of 14 per cent; when this was increased to four cups of green tea daily, that risk reduced by 20 per cent. However, the perfect blend of one coffee and two green teas showed an impressive 32 per cent decrease in the risk of stroke. Considering the stimulant effect coffee has on your body, it is best not to drink it on an empty stomach and certainly not first thing in the morning. When you wake up, your body is sensitive because it has spent all night cleansing, healing and repairing. To put coffee straight in is not helpful and could cause more harm than good. Instead, take one of your two green teas first thing in the morning to enhance your body's natural cleansing process, then proceed to eat your breakfast. The best time for your coffee would be midmorning. If you have already eaten something, the effect of caffeine isn't quite so stressful on your body. Having your coffee earlier in the day also gives your system time to process the caffeine in time for the evening. so it doesn't interfere with your early-to-bed, early-to-rise regimen. Laura Holland is a well-being consultant and nutritional therapist. For more information, go to www.BeUtifulYou.com Follow us Follow us on Facebook for discussions, entertainment, reviews, wellness and news.

Coffee and tea: A perfect blend for stroke prevention

Two cups of green tea combined with one cup of coffee a day can reduce the risk of stroke by a third.