Drinking moderate amount of tea and coffee reduces the risk of renal cancer

(Lianhe Zaobao) Hong Kong Ming Pao reported that a study by Harvard Medical School in the United States found that people who regularly drank tea and coffee had a lower risk of kidney cancer, while drinking milk, soda and fruit juice did not have this effect. The researchers pointed out that people who drank coffee and a small cup of tea every day had a 10% lower risk of kidney cancer than those who did not drink it. However, some Hong Kong doctors are of the view that other carcinogenic factors have not been fully taken into account in the study, and remind the public that there has been a similar study that drinking too much coffee and tea can also cause cancer.

15% lower risk than non-drinkers

The Harvard Medical School study synthesized 13 dietary health reports and analyzed the health status of about 530000 women and 240000 men. It was found that drinking tea and coffee regularly can reduce the risk of kidney cancer. The researchers found that people who drank three or more cups of coffee a day had a 16 percent lower risk of kidney cancer than those who drank less than one cup a day on average. People who drank a small cup of tea (about 230 grams) a day also had a 15% lower risk of kidney cancer than those who did not drink tea.

Although research cannot prove that tea and coffee can directly reduce the risk of kidney cancer, Korean researcher Dr. Jung Enli pointed out that tea and coffee contain antioxidants that theoretically help kidney cells resist carcinogen damage.

He added that insulin levels, which control blood sugar in the body, are associated with the risk of kidney cancer, and that the ingredients of these two drinks may increase the body's sensitivity to insulin and have the opportunity to have a preventive effect on kidney cancer over time. The results of the study are published in the International Journal of Cancer Medicine.

It is also said that drinking too much coffee and tea causes cancer.

Cai Jian, president of the Hong Kong Medical Association, said that similar dietotherapy was available two years ago, but it is also said that drinking too much coffee and tea can also cause cancer. In addition, caffeine in coffee also has side effects such as irritating, stressful and rapid heartbeat.

Zhou Jiahuan, a nephrologist at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, said that he had never heard of the idea that drinking coffee and tea could prevent kidney cancer, and had never heard of such a study. She pointed out that such studies focus on observation and tend to ignore other carcinogenic factors such as smoking and eating too much meat.

In addition, kidney cancer is only one of the few cancers in Hong Kong. She advised members of the public to pay more attention to diet and quit smoking to prevent bowel and lung cancer, which are more common.