Research Says Coffee Drinking Cuts Breast, Prostate Cancers

It appears that your parents are doing at least one good thing for themselves: drinking coffee.  The results of two recent studies reveal a link between lower risks of prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women among coffee drinkers.

Men who regularly drink coffee appear to have a lower risk of developing a lethal form of prostate cancer, according to the new study led by Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers. What's more, the lower risk was evident among men who drank either regular or decaffeinated coffee.

The researchers chose to study coffee because it contains many beneficial compounds that act as antioxidants, reduce inflammation, and regulate insulin, all of which may influence prostate cancer.

Among the findings:

·         Men who consumed the most coffee (six or more cups daily) had nearly a 20 percent lower risk of developing any form of prostate cancer.

·         The inverse association with coffee was even stronger for aggressive prostate cancer. Men who drank the most coffee had a 60 percent lower risk of developing lethal prostate cancer.

·         The reduction in risk was seen whether the men drank decaffeinated or regular coffee, and does not appear to be due to caffeine.

In another study, researchers from Sweden compared lifestyle factors and coffee consumption between women with breast cancer and age-matched women without. They found that heavy coffee drinkers had a lower incidence of ER–negative breast cancer than women who rarely drank coffee.

Women who drank five cups of coffee a day had a 33 to 57 percent lower risk for this cancer than did women who drank less than a cup a day. Once they had adjusted their data to account for these other factors they found that the protective effect of coffee on breast cancer was only measurable for ER-negative breast cancer.

Encourage your parents to get regular exercise and visit their doctors as scheduled. Remind them to discuss a healthy diet with their doctor or a nutritionist. If they need help around the house, a Home Instead CAREGiver^SM could assist. CAREGivers are screened, trained, bonded and insured, and provide a variety of companionship and home helper services.

For more about the studies, go to http://www.acsh.org/factsfears/newsid.2655/news_detail.asp and http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-05/bc-crb050911.php.