Coffee May Protect Against Some Skin Cancers

By: Stephanie Pappas Published: 01/20/2015 04:31 PM EST on LiveScience Go ahead, enjoy that morning mug. A new study suggests that people who are in the habit of drinking coffee regularly may be protected against malignant melanoma, the leading cause of skin-cancer death in the United States. People in the study who drank four or more cups of coffee daily were 20 percent less likely to develop malignant melanoma than noncoffee drinkers, according to the study published today (Jan. 20) in JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Of course, the findings don't give you license to fire up the Mr. Coffee and then spend your day lounging in the sun without any sunscreen — the best way to prevent skin cancer remains avoiding sun exposure and ultraviolet radiation, said study researcher Erikka Loftfield, a doctoral student at the Yale School of Public Health and a fellow at the National Cancer Institute. "Our results, and some from other recent studies, should provide reassurance to coffee consumers that drinking coffee is not a risky thing to do," Loftfield told Live Science in an email. "However, our results do not indicate that individuals should alter their coffee intake." [Top 10 Anti-Cancer Foods] Measuring java's effect Previous studies had found hints that drinking coffee might be linked to lower rates of nonmelanoma skin cancers, but the findings were mixed when researchers looked at coffee and melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. Melanomas arise fro...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news