Coffee and Cancer

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Coffee consumption is associated with a modest reduction of total cancer incidence.

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One of the reasons it’s so difficult to study the relationship between diet and cancer is because many dietary behaviors are associated with non-dietary behaviors. For example, the reason we used to think coffee drinking caused cancer was because people who drink coffee are more likely to have a cigarette in the other hand.

When you factor that out, though—for example, by looking at just nonsmokers who do or don’t drink coffee—we find that, if anything, coffee consumption may reduce the total cancer incidence.
Not by much, but, “Overall, according to the latest review, an increase in consumption of one cup of coffee per day was associated with about a 3% reduced risk of [cancers—especially] bladder cancer, breast [cancer], [mouth,] colorectal, endometrial, esophageal, [liver,] leukemic, pancreatic, and prostate cancers.”

Coffee beans aren’t really beans, but one is, after all, just soaking a powdered seed in some water. So, a reduction in cancer risk not that surprising.

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by veganmontreal.

Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.

Images thanks to FCRebelo  and Urban Hafner via Wikimedia Commons, and Kukuruki.

One of the reasons it’s so difficult to study the relationship between diet and cancer is because many dietary behaviors are associated with non-dietary behaviors. For example, the reason we used to think coffee drinking caused cancer was because people who drink coffee are more likely to have a cigarette in the other hand.

When you factor that out, though—for example, by looking at just nonsmokers who do or don’t drink coffee—we find that, if anything, coffee consumption may reduce the total cancer incidence.
Not by much, but, “Overall, according to the latest review, an increase in consumption of one cup of coffee per day was associated with about a 3% reduced risk of [cancers—especially] bladder cancer, breast [cancer], [mouth,] colorectal, endometrial, esophageal, [liver,] leukemic, pancreatic, and prostate cancers.”

Coffee beans aren’t really beans, but one is, after all, just soaking a powdered seed in some water. So, a reduction in cancer risk not that surprising.

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by veganmontreal.

Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.

Images thanks to FCRebelo  and Urban Hafner via Wikimedia Commons, and Kukuruki.

Doctor's Note

What about the caffeine though? Find out in What About the Caffeine? I still don’t recommend people drink coffee—not because it’s not healthy, but because there are even healthier choices. Coffee is like a banana—a common, convenient, plant-based food. If you have a choice, I’d encourage people to make healthier fruit choices (apples are better; berries are best), and choose a healthier beverage, like green tea. See my many videos on tea.

And note that the meta-analysis this video is based upon is open access, so you can download it by clicking on the link in the Sources Cited section, above. 

*Update: I have a bunch of new coffee videos. Check them out on the coffee topic page. 

For more context, check out my associated blog posts: Coffee Caveats; Poultry and Penis Cancer; Gerson Therapy for Cancer?; Avoid Cooked Meat Carcinogens; Treating Parkinson’s Disease with Diet; and Breast Cancer & Alcohol: How Much Is Safe?

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