Coffee May Lower Prostate Cancer Risk

A study published online in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute has revealed that coffee averts the risk of prostate cancer in men significantly, particularly its grave form.

[Read: Facts about Prostate Cancer]

Lorelei Mucci, researcher and associate professor of epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health said that while examining all forms of prostate cancer, the researchers found that men, who were regular coffee drinkers, had about 20 per cent lesser risk of developing prostate cancer. The regular coffee drinkers are those who took six or more cups of coffee a day. 

Coffee guarded one against the most severe prostate cancer form. Men, who drank six or more cups of coffee in day, cut their risk of prostate cancer by 60 per cent whereas men, who took three to four cups of coffee daily, reduced their risk by only 29 per cent.

The element of surprise in the study was that both caffeinated coffee and decaf coffee were able to reduce the chances of developing prostate cancer, thus giving birth to the speculation that it is not the caffeine which is responsible for cutting the risk.

Researchers said that the frequency and amount of coffee that one drank in the last eight years cuts down the risk of prostate cancer, thus it does not require decades of regular and heavy coffee drinking. So, if you’re in your 20s and have a family history of prostate cancer or a lifestyle that makes you vulnerable to this form of cancer, you may start drinking coffee from today.

Mucci said that even after the increased adherence to wrong lifestyle practices, such as low physical activity, smoking, drinking , unhealthy eating and obesity, coffee remains persistent in lowering prostate cancer risk. [Read: Prostate Cancer Prevention with Diet]

Why Coffee was chosen for the research?

Prostate cancer being the second deadliest cancer among U.S men has always been a major concern of doctors and researchers. Coffee, which is a common beverage, has shown components that can ease prostate cancer severity and risk. The beneficial compounds present in the coffee act as antioxidants and are found to reduce inflammation and regulate insulin levels in the body.

Apart from the reduced prostate cancer risk, previous studies have shown that coffee can also reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, gallstone disease and liver cancer. It’s due to the antioxidants present in the coffee along with its insulin-lowering effects that coffee was made a part of the study. [Read: What is Parkinson's Disease?]

The study was jointly supported by the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. the American Institute for Cancer Research and the Prostate Cancer Foundation.

Read more articles on Prostate Cancer.