Considering that more than half the population in America drinks at least one cup of coffee every single day, it’s not all too surprising that scientists focus quite a bit of attention on the health implications of coffee.
There’s a massive amount of research on the impact of coffee intake, with some studies claiming that coffee can do anything from fighting obesity and protecting against Parkinson’s disease, while other studies have suggested that coffee is potentially carcinogenic. That is to say that inconsistencies are rife when it comes to analyzing the relationship between coffee and cancer.
To bring some more clarity in this specific area of study, researchers have conducted a massive system review and meta-analysis of the most current research on coffee consumption and cancer risk. The analysis reviewed sixteen studies comprising of more than one million subjects and 57,000 cases of prostate cancer.
What the researchers found was a distinctly positive correlation between high levels of coffee consumption and a lower risk of prostate cancer.
“In the dose-response analysis, a reduction in the risk of prostate cancer of nearly one percent was observed for each increment of one cup of coffee per day,” the researchers write.
Although we cannot rely on such a meta-analysis to provide definite answers, the researchers did say that there are a number of potential mechanisms that can explain how coffee could lower one’s prostate cancer.
“Coffee improves glucose metabolism, decreases concentrations of plasma insulin and insulin-like growth factor-1, has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, and affects sex hormone levels, all of which may play a role in the initiation, development, and progression of prostate cancer,” the researchers said.
From this meta-analysis, we cannot say with certainty that increasing coffee consumption will protect men from prostate cancer. What we can say, however, that is people with prostate cancer concerns shouldn’t feel worried about enjoying their daily cups of coffee.
