Coffee may reduce prostate cancer risk

Drinking coffee regularly may help lower the risk of advanced prostate cancer, according to a study presented to the American Association for Cancer Research.

Men who drank the most coffee were nearly 60% less likely to develop advanced prostate cancer than non-coffee drinkers, Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health discovered when analyzing information from the Health Professionals' Follow-Up Study, which included data on the coffee-drinking habits of nearly 50,000 men from 1986 to 2006. During that time period, 4,975 of the men developed prostate cancer. The results showed men who drank the most coffee (six or more cups per day) had a 59% lower risk of aggressive prostate cancer (fatal or advanced disease) compared to non-coffee drinkers. But researchers say it's not just the caffeine that's responsible for the prostate cancer prevention benefits. The study showed men who drank decaffeinated coffee also had a similar reduction in aggressive prostate cancer risk. Researchers say coffee also contains many other potentially beneficial compounds such as antioxidants and minerals that may play a role in preventing prostate cancer and more research is needed to confirm these results.

Bonnie - wow. I have always been an advocate of moderate coffee consumption for energy, concentration, blood sugar, and antioxidant benefits. The data is very encouraging because it is a very large, long-term population study.