We're all aware of how we should be protecting ourselves from the sun's cancer-causing ultraviolet rays: Sunscreen, occupying the shade, and minimal sun exposure. We're force-fed those precautions each and every summer. But what if your daily coffee run could be just as beneficial? An study recently published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI), may just reveal the link between coffee consumption and decreased rates of melanoma.
In the United States, cutaneous melanoma is the most prevalent form of skin cancer affecting the population, with an estimated 770,000 new cases reported annually in 2013. And, of those cases, nearly 10,000 prove to be fatal.
Coffee, however, has proven to be beneficial in the body's ability to fight-off the onset of such cancers. Contemporary studies have shown that coffee is able to mildly mitigate the oxidative-stress caused by UVB exposure to the skin's epidermal tissue; coffee was also shown to perform a myriad of the cellular benefits, such as a reduction in inflammation and increased protection against DNA mutations caused by ultraviolet rays. Couple these beneficial factors together, and you're 20% less likely to develop melanoma than a non-espresso enthusiast.
In the study lead by Erikka Loftfield, MPH for the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics at the National Cancer Institute in Rockville, researchers began looking into the dietary habits of 447,357 Caucasians in the US. During the nearly 11-year study, 2,904 cases of melanoma emerged from the surveyed group. But what later proved to be a curve-ball for the research team was the clear correlation between coffee intake and malignant melanoma developments. Analytical data later proved that individuals who drank, on average, four-cups of coffee per-day had a 20% less likely chance of developing a form of skin cancer than the group who didn't regularly consume coffee.
It should also be noted that the studied results only correlated with caffeinated coffee, not the decaffeinated varieties. The study revealed that there was a positive trend for the amount of caffeinated coffee consumed and skin protection from ultraviolet radiation.
So, go ahead, drink that sixth-cup of coffee. Your dermatologist may very well be thanking you for it one day.
