Coffee - Not so bad after all!

There has always been some suspicion around coffee and its impact on health and most of us coffee fans have at least one friend who loves to remind us how bad it is to drink coffee. So I love it when another study comes out with good news; moderate consumption of coffee can actually be good for you. There has been a growing body of research that coffee may offer some protection against disease. One such study was recently reported at the 10th international conference of the American Association for Cancer Research in Boston Massachusetts. Study author Fengju Song, from Harvard Medical School said “Our study indicates that coffee consumption may be an important option to help prevent basal cell carcinoma.” Basal Cell Carcinoma is the most common form of skin cancer.

The meta-analysis consisted of two groups of 72,921 and 39976 who were followed up from 1984-2008 and 1986-2008, respectively. Researchers discovered that there was a 20% lower relative risk for basal cell carcinoma for those who had 3 or more cups of coffee a day compared to those who drank less than 1 a month. This reduction in risk was not observed with decaffeinated coffee.

So if you are one of those people who enjoy the smell and taste of that perked cup of java, raise your next mug of coffee and make a toast to good health!