Can Drinking Coffee Help Prevent Prostate Cancer?
- A new study from the Harvard School of Public Health that lasted 22 years says that men who regularly drink coffee—even one to three cups a day--appear to have a lower risk of developing a deadly form of prostate cancer. And it doesn’t matter if it’s regular or decaf coffee.
- Coffee was chosen for this study because the drink has a number of “beneficial compounds” that act as antioxidants, reduce inflammation, and regulate insulin, all of which may influence prostate cancer.
- Caffeine and phenolic acids in coffee have potent antioxidant activity which can affect glucose metabolism and sex hormone levels.
The Harvard study followed nearly 48,000 men who reported their coffee consumption every four years from 1986 to 2008.
The researchers concluded:
- Men who drank the most coffee (six or more cups daily) had nearly a 20% lower risk of developing any form of prostate cancer.
- Men who drank the most coffee had a 60% lower risk of developing prostate cancer that leads to death or spreads to the bones.
- The lowered risk does not seem to be related to caffeine, because the men drank decaffeinated or regular coffee.
- Even drinking one to three cups of coffee per day was associated with a 30% lower risk of lethal prostate cancer.
No one is prepared to conclusively link coffee with reduced risk for prostate concern, but the Harvard researchers said, “We observed a strong inverse association between coffee consumption and risk of lethal prostate cancer. The association appears to be related to non-caffeine components of coffee.”
