Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Benefits of Coffee Drinking


Drinking coffee regularly appears to lower the risk of prostate cancer , especially the lethal form, according to new research.
The research took a look at all forms of prostate cancer and observed (quote), ''the highest coffee drinkers had about a 20% lower risk of developing prostate cancer during the follow-up," says researcher Lorelei Mucci, ScD, MPH, associate professor of epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. See report in WebMD
The 20% lower risk was found in those drinking six or more cups daily compared to none, according to Dr. Mucci..
Protection was more against the most lethal form of prostate cancer. To quote from the report, "Among those drinking one to three cups a day, the risk of lethal prostate cancer declined 29%, compared to that of nondrinkers. Among those drinking six or more cups daily, the risk for deadly prostate cancer was reduced 60% compared to that of nondrinkers."
The surprising thing was that the risk reduction did not matter whether one drank regular coffee or decaf, leading to speculation that it maybe something else in coffee, perhaps not necessarily the caffeine that provides the protection.  More info at WebMD.