The link between coffee and acute ischemic stroke onset

Do you drink coffee on a regular basis? I do. And what does drinking coffee have to do with acute ischemic stroke (caused by disruption of blood supply to part of the brain)? In a study published in Neurology, Mostofsky and colleagues investigated the relationship between drinking caffeinated coffee and the risk of acute ischemic stroke in the next hour.

Using a case-crossover design, each subject served as his/her own control. All the subjects were patients with a confirmed diagnosis of ischemic stroke. Coffee consumption information one hour before the onset of stroke symptoms was compared with their frequency of coffee consumption in the previous year.

They found that drinking coffee doubles your risk of ischemic stroke onset in the next hour compared to drinking other caffeinated drinks such as tea or cola; which may be due to lower concentrations of caffeine in those drinks.

When they looked at the frequency of caffeinated coffee intake in the previous week, they found that only people who were drinking ≤1 cup of coffee per day had increased risk for ischemic stroke in the following hour.

The take-home message?

• Drinking coffee temporarily increases one’s risk of ischemic stroke – especially so for infrequent drinkers (≤1 cup of coffee per day).

Well, I don’t think I’m willing to forsake my coffee just yet so I’m going to have 2 cups a day instead of my usual 1 a day.


Mostofsky E, Schlaug G, Mukamal KJ, Rosamond WD, & Mittleman MA (2010). Coffee and acute ischemic stroke onset: The Stroke Onset Study. Neurology PMID: 20881275

Is eating 6 meals a day instead of 3 a better weight loss strategy?

I’ve come across a significant number of non-peer reviewed articles on the internet about weight loss, body building etc. that advocates eating 6 meals a day (just Google "3 meals or 6 meals" to see what I mean). Reasons given for doing so includes less fluctuation in blood glucose and lower fat storage among others. But is eating 6 meals instead of 3 a day really beneficial for someone trying to cut some flab? Some researchers think not.

In an article published in Obesity, Leidy and colleagues (2010) investigated how differing amount of dietary protein and eating frequency influences our perceived appetite and satiety levels during weight loss. 

In a 12 week experiment, 27 obese men were randomized into either the high protein or normal protein group and were required to engaged in a weight-loss diet that is 750kcal/day lower than their daily needs. Beginning on the 7^th week, all participants alternated between 3 meals a day or 6 meals a day, each lasting for 3 days. Information on their perception of daily hunger, desire to eat and thinking about food were recorded and compared.

Results

• The high protein group felt fuller, had lower desire to snack at night and thought less about food than the normal protein group.
• Eating 3 or 6 meals a day did not have any effect on hunger, fullness, desire to eat nor preoccupation with thoughts of food.

The take-home message? Getting on a high protein diet appears to be a viable weight loss strategy because it gives you better control over your appetite and satiety but switching to a 6 meals a day strategy appears not to be helpful in these areas.

Furthermore, some previous studies have found a relationship between higher meal frequency and higher colon cancer risk (eg. Shoff et al, 2000 (for women), Wei et al. 2004(for men)). So I were you, I'll think twice about adopting that 6 meals a day plan too readily. 

Leidy HJ, Tang M, Armstrong CL, Martin CB, & Campbell WW (2010). The Effects of Consuming Frequent, Higher Protein Meals on Appetite and Satiety During Weight Loss in Overweight/Obese Men. Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) PMID: 20847729
Wei, J., Connelly, A., Satia, J., Martin, C., & Sandler, R. (2004). Eating Frequency and Colon Cancer Risk Nutrition and Cancer, 50 (1), 16-22 DOI: 10.1207/s15327914nc5001_3
Shoff, S., Newcomb, P., & Longnecker, M. (1997). Frequency of eating and risk of colorectal cancer in women Nutrition and Cancer, 27 (1), 22-25 DOI: 10.1080/01635589709514496