Just two cups of coffee a day can significantly reduce the risk of stroke, research shows, reports the Daily Mail.
Experts have previously been divided over the drink, with some suggesting the beverage is a dangerous stimulant, and others that it could save lives.
But a comprehensive analysis of the health benefits of coffee has confirmed it can have a powerful preventative effect against one of Britain’s biggest killers.
Scientists at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, pooled results of earlier studies to find a definitive answer.
They gathered statistics from eight studies surveying nearly half-a-million people, carried out from the mid-1960s to 2011.
The results, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, showed those drinking two cups a day were 14 per cent less likely to suffer a clot on the brain, while drinking three to four cups a day reduced the dangers by 17 per cent.
But consuming more than that does not necessarily boost protection, the study showed. Caffeine addicts drinking six or more cups daily see a reduction in risk of just 7 per cent.
The researchers said antioxidants in coffee may protect blood vessels in the brain from damage caused by lipoprotein, dubbed the ‘bad’ cholesterol.
But they stressed there are still lingering concerns that it can increase blood pressure.
The scientists said: ‘Coffee is a complex mixture of substances that may have both beneficial and harmful effects.’