Drinking Coffee Lowers Risk of Cancer, Study Shows

Coffee lovers should rejoice at recent findings that drinking coffee regularly can actually reduce the risk for liver cancer.

Maine News Online reported that the World Cancer Research Fund International stated in a new report that drinking coffee can actually reduce the risk for developing liver cancer. Individuals who drink three or more alcoholic drinks daily put themselves at a higher risk for acquiring the disease. Men should limit themselves to no more than two alcoholic drinks a day while women should drink one at most per day.

Researchers analyzed global studies about the causes and prevention of liver cancer to come up with the finding. International Business Times reported that the study analyzed data acquired from 34 research initiatives covering over 8.2 million people from around the world. The objective was to find out how diet, physical activity and weight affect the risk for liver cancer development. The studies were collected and reviewed by researchers at Imperial College London in England. A panel of international experts then assessed the findings independently.

The researchers cited that hundreds of chemical reactions happen in coffee, which result to new molecules formed that can compensate for the harmful effects of chemicals and improve overall health. Aside from preventing liver cancer, regularly drinking coffee was also found to provide protection against type-2 diabetes, Parkinson's disease, death from cardiovascular diseases and liver cirrhosis.

WWLP reported that people who consumed one to two cups of coffee per day only had a slightly lower risk for developing liver cancer compared to those who did not consume coffee at all. According to researchers, liver cancer in the United States can be reduced by as much as 30 percent or 11,000 cases every year, if Americans avoided alcohol and maintained a healthy weight.

The researchers also found the increased body fat also puts people more at risk for liver cancer. Liver cancer cases are growing in the United States where 69 percent of Americans are categorized as either overweight or obese.

Researchers have also discovered that foods contaminated with aflatoxins, which are produced by fungi, greatly increased the risk for liver cancer. Some of the food products that may contaminated with aflatoxins include peanuts, cereals, spices and dried fruit, based on a report by Medical Xpress.

Stephen Hursting, Ph.D., M.P.H., a researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said in the same report by International Business Times, "This is the first time there's been such a clear signal from a rigorous, systematic review on the links between obesity increasing risk of liver cancer and coffee decreasing risk."