More Caffeine Buzz. Does it Really Reduce the Risk of Endometrial Cancer?
Friday, April 17th, 2009Here is another recent study in the International Journal of Cancer that supports the idea of caffeine as having anti-carinogenic properties. The senior research of this work, Dr. Susan McCann of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York, suggests that both coffee and tea may contain antioxidants that have a protective role in the body. The results of the study suggest that having four or more cups of coffee or tea per day, reduces the risk of in the endometrial cancer by half. Women who drank two or more cups also had a reduced risk of 29 percent less likely to have endometrial cancer.
In my view, it is much too simplistic to correlate the reduced rate of endometrial cancer to that of coffee and/or tea consumption. It is critical to consider the numerous lifestyle factors that are much more protective and preventive in nature, including exercise, stress reduction, proper nutrition, and many others.
Although, coffee and tea may have some antioxidants, the dangers of caffeine outweigh the benefits. Caffeine reduces absorption of iron and increases excretion of calcium. It affects the cardiovascular, the gastrointestinal, as well as the nervous systems. In women, caffeine exacerbates both the fibrocystic breast and premenstrual syndromes. In pregnancy regular consumption of caffeine may increase the rate of miscarriages, and it also crosses the placenta. These are only a few examples of the effects of caffeine on the body, and are far greater than being protective.


