Drink Coffee: Lower Risk of Uterine Cancer

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From Denny: If you needed yet another good excuse for drinking that extra cup of coffee or tea this is it! A new study out suggests that drinking coffee and tea may help reduce the risk of endrometrial cancer (lining of the uterus).

It seems researchers are just now looking at the role of diet. They already have established other factors as indicators for risk like older age, obesity, late menopause and estrogen therapy after menopause.

The study was comprised of 1,100 women who were drinkers or non-drinkers of coffee and tea. They found the drinkers had a lower risk of this uterine cancer.

What were the stats? According to the report in the International Journal of Cancer, women who were drinking at least four cups or a day of coffee AND tea were found to have only half the incidence of endrometrial cancer as the non-drinkers in the study. Women who drank at least two cups of tea a day were found to have a lower risk by 44%. As to women who ONLY drank about two cups of coffee a day there was a lower risk as well by 29%.

Why do coffee and tea protect against this type of cancer? Researchers can only speculate right now, thinking it is the caffeine. One idea they put forth is that caffeine does induce certain enzymes that can help neutralize what might prove to be potentially harmful cancer-causing substances.

We have all been reading about antioxidants for years to know that may also be a factor: flavonoids, catechins and isoflavones. These substances all protect the body's cells from damage which eventually could lead to cancer.

These beverage drinkers seem to also have a lower body weight which may be of help.

For now, researchers are only suggesting there is a strong association between the beverages of coffee and tea lowering the risk of uterine cancer. Whether these beverages are actually responsible for lowering the risk requires more research to prove.

Written by Denny Lyon