According to a new study from Italy, a certain type of coffee reduces prostate cancer risk by 50%. This finding is likely great news to men who enjoy several cups of joe every day, so if that’s you, put the pot on.
The study is not the first to extol the virtues of certain elements in coffee or drinking coffee on prostate cancer risk. For example:
In a 2017 meta-analysis of coffee consumption and prostate cancer risk that involved 28 studies, the authors reported that drinking coffee reduced the risk of localized prostate cancer.
The authors of a 2017 case-control study reported that greater intake of caffeic acids (high levels in coffee) and hydroxybenzoic acids were associated with a lower risk of advanced prostate cancer and that high consumption of caffeic acid and ferulic acid may be associated with a lower risk of prostate cancer in general.
Italian style coffee study
In this latest study, the findings of which were published in the International Journal of Cancer, the focus was on Italian-style coffee. Specifically Italian-style coffee is prepared by using high pressure, very high water temperature, and no filters, which could result in a greater concentration of bioactive ingredients and which is significantly different than how coffee is prepared in many places around the world. The study evaluated the impact of coffee drinking among 6,989 men age 50 or older who were followed for a mean of 4.24 years.
The authors found that men who consumed at least three cups of Italian-style coffee daily had a 53 percent lower risk of developing prostate cancer when compared with men who drank few cups daily.
In addition, the researchers evaluated both caffeinated and decaffeinated Italian-style coffee extracts in the laboratory and found that caffeinated extracts reduced the ability of cancer cells to grow, divide, and spread, but that these benefits were not seen in decaffeinated coffee extracts.
According to study co-author Maria Benedetta Donati, “The observations on cancer cells allow us to say that the beneficial effect observed among the 7,000 participants is most likely due to caffeine, rather than to the many other substances contained in coffee.”
The findings of this study are important for several reasons, not least of which is the fact that some previous studies have produced contradictory results. They also highlight that how the coffee is prepared (Italian style being different than how it is made in many other parts of the world) is significant in reducing prostate cancer risk.
Watch a video on how to make Italian coffee here
Buy the Italian Moka Coffee Pot here
Read more in our Prostate Cancer Health Center.
References
Pounis G et al. Reduction by coffee consumption of prostate cancer risk: Evidence from the Moli‐sani cohort and cellular models. International Journal of Cancer 2017 Jul 1; 141(1): 72-82
Russo GI et al. Dietary consumption of phenolic acids and prostate cancer: a case-control study in Sicily, Southern Italy. Molecules 2017 Dec 5; 22(12): pii
Whiteman H. Italian-style coffee could halve the risk of prostate cancer. Medical News Daily 2017 Apr 27
Xia J et al. An up-to-date meta-analysis of coffee consumption and risk of prostate cancer. Urology Journal 2017 Aug 29; 14(5): 4079-88
