Coffee Drinkers Are Less Likely to Develop Melanoma Skin Cancer, Decaf Doesn’t Count

According to a new study, those who drink more than two cups of caffeinated coffee daily have a lower risk of developing one of the deadliest forms of skin cancer, melanoma. Coffee drinkers have a decreased risk of up to 20% of developing this deadly disease.

The recent research was done by a team of scientists from the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health in collaboration with researchers from the Yale School of Public Health.

They discovered that the more coffee a person drinks, the lower the risks of developing melanoma.

For the study, the scientists gathered data from the Health Study and NIH-AARP Diet program, which involved 447,357 white participants. None of the participants were affected by cancer at the beginning of the study.

When the research started, the participants had to complete a questionnaire about the food they consumed and the quantity of coffee they drank each day.

The scientists kept track of the participants from more than 10 years, to see if any of them will be affected by a form of cancer. During this period of time, it appeared that 2,905 of those involved in the study had developed the melanoma skin cancer.

According to recent statistics, melanoma is one of the leading causes of death when it comes to skin cancer in the United States. The reports also show that this type of skin cancer is the fifth most deadly forms of cancer.
The researchers have found that during the 10 year period, the participants who drank more than 2 cups of coffee daily were less likely to develop melanoma.

The study revealed that drinking 4 coffee cups, or more, can reduce the risk of melanoma by up o 20%.
The results were the same regardless of the participants’ age, sex, BMI, alcohol intake, smoking habits or even exposure to ultra violet radiation.

The scientists noted that the results applied only to caffeinated coffee, not decaf.
According to experts, coffee contains very powerful bioactive compounds that act as sunscreen and protect the skin against the damaging UV radiation and sun rays.

The new study on the benefits of coffee was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
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