Coffee fans know that consuming a well-brewed coffee is not only refreshing but also healthy. That’s why most people are now considering home coffeemakers while others choose these machines for the office. Coffee is associated with lowering the risks of developing diabetes.
It also helps the drinkers stay focused. However, the underlying question is whether coffee protects the skin. Several studies suggest that coffee reduces the chances of malignant melanoma, which is the deadliest type of skin cancer.
This finding was published by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The NCI did a study on the impacts of coffee on the skin. The study involved about 450,000 non-Hispanic white women and men, the group that has a higher chance of getting this condition. Those who took 4 or more cups of coffee daily lowered their malignant melanoma chance by 20%.
This result was true even when the researchers managed other factors that can affect skin cancer such as physical activity, exposure to UV, age, and smoking. Amazingly, these factors didn’t have any impact on melanoma risk. They found that only regular coffee and not decaf had an impact on malignant melanoma.
Even though people who drank 1, 2, or 3 cups of coffee daily had a relative decrease in melanoma risk than those, who didn’t consume coffee. It was only with 4 or more cups of coffee that the risk decrease became considerable notes Erikka Loftfield. Four cups seem a lot, but the researchers insist on true cups – 8 ounces each. These shouldn’t be jumbo ceramic mugs or venti from Starbucks.
The study didn’t highlight specific mechanisms or ways through which coffee may protect against malignant melanoma. Nevertheless, various earlier researchers note that the coffee’s anti-cancer properties arise due to the abundance of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds.
A major compound found in abundance in regular coffee is caffeine. Caffeine is limited in decaf which explains why this coffee isn’t enlisted in this study. Loftfield holds that caffeine is associated with their results.
A previous study has also revealed that caffeine guards the skin against other types of skin cancer. In 2012, a Harvard study found that men who consumed more than 3 cups of caffeinated coffee every day were 10% less likely to get basal cell carcinoma. The basal cell carcinoma is the most typical type of skin cancer.
In 2011, researchers from Rutgers University conducted a study whereby applied caffeine topically to the skin mice. The mice were then exposed to UV radiation to imitate sunlight. The mice with caffeine on their skin developed fewer instances of squamous cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer. According to the researchers, caffeine functions by barring a specific protein that otherwise allows UV-damaged skin cells to turn cancerous. Ideally, caffeine functions as a cellular sunscreen.
Based on these findings, it’s clear that coffee protects the skin against cancer to some extent. Hence, intake of a considerable amount of coffee consistently can help boost your skin health. Note that it’s only the caffeinated coffee that has these protective properties.
However, drinking coffee alone can’t protect your skin from all types of cancer. You should adopt other methods to keep your skin free from cancerous-causing agents.
