Coffee Healthy Living Heavy coffee consumption reduces prostate cancer risk

New York Times, June 17, 2011-people who drink a lot of coffee have a lower risk of prostate cancer, a study has found.

Compared with non-drinkers, people who drank six or more cups of coffee a day had a nearly 20% lower risk of prostate cancer over the past 20 years, the researchers found.

Scientists at Harvard University followed 47911 men who regularly reported their coffee consumption.

More importantly, "people who drink a lot of coffee have a 60% lower risk of fatal prostate disease than those who don't drink coffee." "even men who drank only one to three cups of coffee had a 30% lower risk of fatal prostate disease."

It doesn't matter whether the coffee you drink is caffeine or decaf.

The study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (The Journal of the National Cancer Institute), is the first time that coffee consumption has been linked to lower prostate risk.

"We're not telling men to drink more coffee," the New York Times quoted Kathryn M. Wilson, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health and the leader of the team, as saying. "but there is growing evidence that men don't have to worry if they drink more coffee."

Coffee is a major dietary source of antioxidants, and other studies have shown that drinking coffee has health benefits, including reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes.