Coffee & Cancer: Each Cup Counts
If you think I’m above finding scientific studies that support my own behaviors and preferences consider this little miracle...
Back in the day, I dreamed of competing on the reality television show Survivor. I knew I could “Outwit. Outplay. Outlast” the best of them.
Then I was realized I wouldn’t have access to coffee for more than a week.
Dealbreaker.
My caffeine intake has steadily increased in the last 25 years and naturally, once I was diagnosed with cancer, I took a second look at my diet. I wasn’t anxious to make any big changes in what I eat and drink, but thought perhaps five cups of coffee of day was a little much.
Turns out, it’s not.
Researchers at Harvard – yes, that Harvard – found that patients diagnosed with stage 1, 2 or 3 colorectal cancer who consumed at least 4 cups of coffee per day had a 52 percent lower risk of dying from the disease compared to weirdos who don’t drink coffee and 30 percent less risk of dying from other causes.
They also found to my delight, that for folks like me with stage 3 colorectal cancer, each cup per day increase of total coffee intake was associated with an 18 percent lower risk of colorectal cancer mortality and a 20 percent lower risk of all-cause mortality.
Each cup.
I loved that math.
I was also happy to learn that while the World Health Organization (WHO) added coffee to its list of carcinogens more than 25 years ago, the world’s health authority reversed course in 2016 after more recent studies found no evidence that drinking coffee increases cancer risk.
The back and forth boils down to acrylamide, a chemical compound formed when coffee beans are roasted. It’s listed among 900 chemicals that require warning labels under California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, known as Prop 65.
The American Cancer Society (ACS), however, isn’t convinced and says more studies are needed to clarify the link between acrylamide and cancer.
In the meantime, I found out that acrylamide also shows up in fried foods such as french fries, in snacks like chocolate chip cookies and potato chips and even in prune juice.
Jesus.
I’ll never drink that crap again.