(RxWiki News) Some of us can't get going each day without it. Yep, coffee is a sheer necessity first thing in the morning for millions of people around the globe. Now it's known that a cup a joe also has health benefits for women.
New research has found that long-term consumption of coffee lowers a woman's risk of endometrial cancer that appears in the inner lining of the womb.
"Drinking coffee lowers your risk of endometrial cancer."
Edward Giovannucci, M.D., Sc.D., professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, says coffee is proving itself to be protective against cancers associated with obesity, estrogen and insulin.
Dr. Giovannucci told dailyRx, "Consistent with previous studies, we found that women consuming coffee, including decaffeinated coffee, are at lower risk of developing endometrial cancer. This association may be related to effects of coffee constituents on levels of hormones including insulin and estrogen, which are related to risk of endometrial cancer."
Giovannucci, working with Youjin Je, a doctoral candidate in his lab, and colleagues, conducted an observational study examining the relationship between cumulative coffee intake and endometrial cancer in the 67,470 women who participated in the Nurses' Health Study.
Over 26 years of following these women, 672 cases of endometrial cancer were diagnosed.
Women who drank more than four cups of coffee a day had a 25 percent decreased risk of developing endometrial cancer. Drinking two to three cups a day was linked to a seven percent lower risk.
A similar association was seen with decaffeinated coffee. Drinking more than two cups of decaffeinated coffee daily was linked with a 22 percent decreased risk for endometrial cancer.
Coffee is known to be protective against diabetes because of its effect on insulin. This is what led Dr. Giovannucci to theorize that coffee may have a protective effect against some cancers.
He adds that laboratory testing has also found coffee "has much more antioxidants than most vegetables and fruits."
This study is published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
