Coffee and tea contain antioxidant properties that may affect one’s risk of prostate cancer. The authors of this study identified 7036 men diagnosed with prostate cancer within the EPIC study—a multi-institutional study involving 10 European counties. The risks associated with prostate cancer were evaluated by comparing individuals consuming the most coffee or tea and individuals consuming the least. There was no association found between high vs low consumption of coffee (HR, 1.02 for risk of prostate cancer; HR, 0.97 for risk of fatal disease) or tea (HR, 0.98 for risk of prostate cancer; HR, 0.89 for fatal disease).
Limitations to this study include self-reporting of coffee/tea intake as well as variation in the strength and type of coffee/tea. Nevertheless, these prospectively collected data suggest that there is no association between coffee or tea consumption and risk of prostate cancer.
– Michael H. Johnson, MD
Written by
Schwah
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"the HRs were ... 0.89 ... for risk of fatal disease" [1]
"EPIC is a prospective study designed to investigate the relationships between diet, lifestyle and environmental factors and the incidence of different forms of cancer. The methods have been described in full elsewhere.5 The total cohort comprises subcohorts of men and women recruited in 23 centers in 10 European countries: Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom."
PCa mortality rate per 100,000 men [2]:
Norway - 106.5
Sweden - 103.0
UK - 80.7
Greece - 15.12 [3]
Spain - 13.84 [4]
Italy - 12.19 [4]
Quite a range!
There is something perverse about commingling data from populations with such different PCa mortality experience.
& coffee consumption varies by amount & preparation styles. Many Swedes favor the traditional boiled method [kokkaffe], which preserves volatile oils.
The Nordics have the highest coffee consumption [an average of 8.2kg of coffee per person, per year in Sweden; 9.9kg in Norway]. Italians have an average of 5.4kg. [6]
Italians are more likely to drink espresso or other dark coffees than Brits, say, where coffee can be milky. The casein in milk binds with the tanins & other polyphenols in coffee (& tea), effectively making the drink medicinally worthless.
An Italian study from 2017 [7]:
"Our study aimed at evaluating in a population cohort the effect of Italian‐style coffee consumption on prostate cancer risk ... 6,989 men of the Moli‐sani cohort aged ≥50 years were followed for a mean of 4.24 ± 1.35 years and 100 new prostate cancer cases were identified."
"The newly diagnosed prostate cancer participants presented lower coffee consumption (60.1 ± 51.3 g/day) compared to the disease‐free population (74.0 ± 51.7 g/day) ... Multiadjusted analysis showed that the subjects at highest consumption (>3 cups/day) had 53% lower prostate cancer risk as compared to participants at the lowest consumption (0–2 cups/day) ..."
Italian data was subsumed into the EPIC study & no doubt weakened by the milky coffee drinkers.
The Aeropress I use produces coffee with hardly any bitterness, but I still need a dash of milk & a little fructose to get it to my taste.
For maximum benefit, one should take it black. The casein in milk binds to polyphenols in the coffee.
Black coffee drinkers are a breed apart IMO. They seem able to drink coffee that was brewed hours ago & tastes like battery acid, without adding anything to counteract it. (I hope Nalakrats doesn't get upset with that observation.)
Patrick, Thank you. There are Europeans who drink their coffee black. We go to restaurants where they serve very bitter coffee in demitasse cups. One has to acquire a taste for this very strong bitter coffee with sediment at the bottom of the cup!! Me, lots of milk, no sugar, please...
"Oddly Correct is part of a new breed of high-end coffee shops that have adopted zero tolerance policies on sugar, milk and cream to preserve what they feel is coffee quality. Others simply opt out of selling smaller espresso-based drinks ‘to go’ because they feel the taste suffers if not enjoyed right away."
Correlation is not causation. There are all sorts of interesting statistical anomalies floating around. If you can't show how they are causally linked, don't bother.
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