Coffee protects women against heart disease - but not men



Coffee can protect against heart disease, a study has found - but only in women.

Scientists found women who drink two to three cups a day are 25 per cent less likely to die from the disease than those who abstain.

But they are at a loss to explain why coffee appeared to have no effect on death rates for men.

The study contradicted fears that coffee is bad for the health. Drinking as much as six cups a day did not raise the risk of premature death in either sex.

Women who drink two to three cups of coffee a day are 25 per cent less likely to die from heart disease, according to a U.S. study

The U.S. research, published today in the Annals of Internal Medicine, looked at 84,000 women between 1980 and 2004, and nearly 42,000 men between 1986 and 2004. The volunteers filled in questionnaires about their coffee habits and health every two to four years.

Women who drank two or three cups of full-strength coffee a day were 25 per cent less likely to die of heart disease during the study, compared with women who drank no coffee.

They were also 18 per cent less likely to die from something other than cancer or heart disease. The research found no link between coffee drinking and cancer.

Those who drank decaffeinated coffee also had lower death rates than those who abstained.

The scientists were unsure whether the coffee itself was cutting the risk of dying prematurely - or whether something else in the lifestyle of female coffee drinkers protects them.

Study author Dr Esther Lopez-Garcia said: 'Coffee consumption has been linked to various beneficial and detrimental health effects, but data on its relation with death were lacking.

'Coffee consumption was not associated with a higher risk of mortality in middle-aged men and women.

'The possibility of a modest benefit of coffee consumption on heart disease, cancer, and other causes of death needs to be further investigated.'

Coffee contains antioxidants and tannins which are good for the heart and arteries. Past studies have suggested it can also be good for the liver and help reduce the risk of asthma attacks.