Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Drinking coffee cuts 'risk of prostate cancer'

Men should wake up and not only smell the coffee if they're hoping to stave off a deadly cancer.

Us scientists believe men who regularly enjoy the drink are 60% less likely to develop an aggressive strain of prostate cancer than those who avoid it.

But British experts want more research before people start drinking more coffee. Researchers looked at the intake of nearly 50,000 men over 20 years. Of these, nearly 5,000 developed prostate cancer. Dr Kathryn Wilson, from the Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, said: "Coffee effects insulin, glucose and metabolism, as well as sex hormone levels, all of which play a role in prostate cancer.


"It is plausible that there may be an association between coffee and prostate cancer." But Dr Wilson said caffeine was unlikely to be key to the protective effect. Instead scientists believe that other compounds found in coffee, such as antioxidants and such as antioxidants and minerals could play an important role. Dr Wilson added: "Very few lifestyle factors have been consistently associated with prostate cancer risk, so it would be very exciting if this association is confirmed in other studies."

Prostate cancer is the most common male cancer in the UK with nearly 35,000 men diagnosed each year and more than 10,000 killed by it. Helen Rippon, of The Prostate Cancer Charity, said: "We would not recommend that men cultivate a heavy coffee drinking habit on the back of this research because a high caffeine intake can cause other problems. More investigation is needed."But men enjoying a regular cup of coffee do not need to give this up for the sake of their prostate."

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