Researchers can't seem to make their mind on whether or not drinking four cups of coffee a day will kill you or help your health.
A recent study by Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center scientists suggests drinking coffee may lower a man's risk of prostate cancer. The findings were published online in Cancer Causes & Control.
The researchers conducted a study to determine "whether the bioactive compounds in coffee and tea may prevent prostate cancer recurrence and delay progression of the disease," according to a news release:
Stanford and colleagues found that men who drank four or more cups of coffee per day experienced a 59 percent reduced risk of prostate cancer recurrence and/or progression as compared to those who drank only one or fewer cups per week.
They did not, however, find an association between coffee drinking and reduced mortality from prostate cancer, although the study included too few men who died of prostate cancer to address that issue separately.
The new study is also the first to reportedly link prostate cancer and tea.
"To our knowledge, our study is the first to investigate the potential association between tea consumption and prostate cancer outcomes," the authors wrote. "It is important to note, however, that few patients in our cohort were regular tea drinkers and the highest category of tea consumption was one or more cups per day. The association should be investigated in future studies that have access to larger populations with higher levels of tea consumption."
However, there was another study published in August stating drinking four cups of coffee a day is harmful to a young male's health.
"A study of more than 40,000 individuals found a statistically significant 21% increased mortality in those drinking more than 28 cups of coffee a week and death from all causes, with a greater than 50% increased mortality risk in both men and women younger than 55 years of age," Mayo Clinic Proceedings said in a news release. "Investigators warn that younger people in particular may need to avoid heavy coffee consumption. No adverse effects were found in heavy coffee drinkers aged over 55."
The findings were published Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
Consuming coffee is a normal part of a daily routine for Americans. If there is one thing to take away from the conflicting studies, it's about moderation in your daily diet, like everything else you eat or drink.
