Instant coffee may protect against heart disease

INSTANT COFFEE could protect against heart disease, according to a study of more than 10,000 men and women.

People drinking more than five cups of coffee a day suffered the least heart disease, says the report by doctors from Ninewells Hospital, Dundee, in the Journal of Epidemiology.

Those who drank fewer than five cups of coffee a day suffered more heart disease - while those who drank no coffee had most.

The findings of the survey, conducted in Scotland, contradict foreign studies which have reported a link between heart disease and coffee consumption. 'Those were mainly on people drinking filtered or boiled coffee,' Dr Colin Brown, one of the paper's authors, said.