Coffee Addiction Could Cut Cancer Risk

I love hearing good news about coffee – and not necessarily that Starbucks Tribute Blend is back in stock or that my local coffee shop is going to be lowering their prices on my favorite drinks. This time, the good news is that a new study has linked coffee addiction to a lower risk of prostate cancer in men. Average coffee consumption for a regular coffee drinker is about 2 cups a day. The Harvard-based study showed that men who drank at least 6 cups of coffee a day – three times the average “normal” amount, but only around a half of a pot – showed a noticeably reduced risk for prostate cancer than other men in the study.

The results were not attributed to caffeine, but instead to the “biologically active compounds [in coffee], including caffeine and phenolic acids that have potent antioxidant activity.” In short, getting a big boost of the antioxidents that can be found in coffee can be very good for your health. This isn’t going to take the place of other antioxident-rich foods, of course, and it doesn’t mean that a venti Frappuccino is going to make you healthier. It does, however, mean that you don’t need to feel one bit of guilt going back for an extra cup (or two) of black or lightly sweetened coffee from the break room at work.