In the ongoing war over the health effects of tea versus coffee, the leaf has been crushing the bean. But new research in Scotland indicates that coffee drinkers are less prone to heart disease than those who prefer tea. Scientists at the University of Dundee Medical School spent seven years studying 11,000 men and women aged 40 to 59. What they found, says Professor Hugh Tunstall-Pedoe, was that those downing three to four cups of coffee daily were up to 40 percent less at risk of dying of a heart-related disease. Tea has been shown in studies to be rich in anti-oxidants that are believed to help fight cancer. But the Dundee researchers say their work shows tea drinkers have a 20 to 30 percent increased risk of coronary-related death if they consume three or four cups a day. "This study shows that the popular medical myth that tea is good and coffee is bad is unlikely to be so," says Tunstall-Pedoe. But, he adds, "what is more likely is that tea and coffee drinkers are different sorts of people."
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