By Victor E. Long, Esq.
Researchers reporting in the National Journal of Cancer believe that coffee – not green tea – reduces the risk of colon cancer. When researchers reviewed data on the beverage-drinking habits of more than 96,000 Japanese men and women over a 10-year period, they found that coffee significantly lowered the risk of colon cancer in females. The findings should be particularly interesting for women who enjoy coffee frequently. Women who regularly drank three or more cups of coffee a day had a 32% lower risk of colon cancer than those who almost never consumed coffee — even after taking into account factors that could have affected risk. Colon cancer risk was not reduced for men, and neither women nor men had a reduced risk of rectal cancer. The mechanism by which coffee may prevent cancer is unknown. It might be due to the caffeine in coffee that could stimulate the working of the colon, or the effect could be due to the antioxidant properties of coffee.