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Writer's pictureBFH Team
Jul 18, 20224 min read

Men, Coffee and Prostate, a Healthy Love Affair

By: Aakriti Gupta

Nothing interferes with our ‘morning constitution’ – sipping on a cup of brewed dark caramel coffee while doing that morning Instagram scroll or powering ourselves with an espresso shot to make the lackadaisical mood go away. While Coffee works like a creative director to our mind in innovative work execution, it has a touted approach towards intimate health benefits as well, especially reduced prostate cancer risk. We can bet that you have never thought of the coffee-prostate cancer connection right?

It may sound unconventional to coffee fanatics (hinting at us) but we can’t rebuff the scads of medical research evincing high coffee intake induces lower prostate cancer risk unless you have a medical research licence and prove the antithesis otherwise (just pulling your leg).

For men, coffee should take the pride of place. Caffeine is a wonder drug, and without the promise of a strong cup of joe, the idea of expending your whole day at work is unfathomable. Whether it’s Starbucks’ Caffe Misto or Mcdonald’s Iced coffee, coffee is an essential call-for.

Coffee is omnipresent, owing to hundreds of authentic coffee chains and coffee brands. It is estimated that *10 million coffee beans are consumed worldwide, and Finland tops the per capita coffee consumption with nearly 12gm coffee consumption every day.

Though the 21st-century men live a more wellness-oriented lifestyle as compared to their predecessors, *they die sooner and suffer more health problems than women. Coffee offers a slew of health benefits by chucking away a host of diseases men suffer from, especially slashing your prostate cancer risk.

Prostate Cancer

Cancer is a disease in which cells in our body grow out of control, when it happens in the prostate, it leads to prostate cancer. Along with the penis, prostate, and seminal vesicles, the prostate is a part of the male reproductive system.

Located below the bladder and in front of the rectum, this tiny walnut-sized gland produces the seminal fluid which feeds and transports the sperm. As men age, it often becomes enlarged, constricts the urethra, and affects the flow of urine. However, this is not cancerous.

Prostate cancer is a common form of the disease that occurs when genetically abnormal cells multiply and form a tumour as a certain protein binds itself to testosterone. Some cases have shown that such abnormal cells break away and spread to various parts of the body (metastasizes).

*Prostate cancer is the second most diagnosed and sixth leading cancer disease that kills men. *It is estimated that one out of eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetimes, and around 34,500 die in the US each year. 

Yes, we know, now you have a lot of ‘savoir faire’ about prostate cancer but you must be still musing on how the coffee-prostate connection works, right! Coffee-prostate connection entails a healthy love affair with a high intake of coffee minimising the prostate cancer risk. But how?

Coffee’s Potential!

Coffee is much more than your morning burrito. While cancer is the upshot of damaged DNA cells, coffee is the weapon to destroy it from its roots. Our DNA and proteins are often damaged by free radicals.

These free radicals can be effectively disarmed by antioxidants and coffee is loaded with those molecule-saving antioxidants. In fact, *coffee is shown to be the single biggest antioxidant source- furnishing 64% of people’s total antioxidant intake.

Coffee is brimming with antioxidants including hydrocinnamic acids and polyphenols that are very effective at neutralising free radicals and preventing oxidative stress.

Coffee is crammed with caffeine, caffeic acid, and chlorogenic acid, which can potentially lessen the development of cancer through multiple carcinogenesis pathways. Chlorogenic acid lowers blood sugar levels and reduces insulin spikes in the digestive tract which can prevent or reduce prostate cancer in men.

Coffee refines your metabolism and contains anti-inflammatory, and antioxidants effect impacting your sex hormones and preventing the initiation, trajectory, and progression of prostate cancer in men. That’s how coffee-prostate cancer connection works!

Amount of caffeine required to battle prostate cancer!

When consumed in moderation, coffee can be a healthy beverage. *According to Dietary Guidelines for Americans, a moderate amount of coffee is generally defined as 3-5 cups per day or 300-400mg of caffeine every day which has been associated with a reduced risk of several chronic diseases. Each additional cup of your regular coffee can minimise prostate cancer by one percent.

Many developed countries like the UK, Sweden, and Japan have data involving men who drink the most coffee having a reduced risk of prostate cancer. *Observing the data involving one million men in the US, the men who drank the most coffee had nearly a 10 percent reduction in prostate cancer.

More benefits

Additionally, *Coffee intake has been associated with a reduced risk of breast, liver, stomach, pancreatic, and bowel cancer in men. *Regular drinking coffee may reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease by 32-65%. *Coffee drinkers have a 23-50% lower risk of Type 2 Diabetes among men, each daily cup is linked to a seven percent reduction.

Conclusion

Guzzling that cup of coffee does more than your daily pick-me-up. Like some sweethearts around the world, Coffee has its past life’s connection with prostate cancer (just fooling around).

But the fact that a high intake of coffee consumption does minimise prostate cancer risk by a dint of the presence of antioxidants and chlorogenic acids in it that disarms the very free radicals harming our organ cells in our body doesn’t conceal the coffee- prostate cancer connection.

Get your day grinding with a cup of coffee and enjoy its health perks.

Keynotes

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