Most of us drink coffee in the morning as a jumpstart. But have you ever wondered what it does to your prostate health?
According to Kathryn M. Wilson Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow at the Channing Laboratory, there may be an invariable link or association between coffee consumption and prostate cancer.
Past studies have confirmed that coffee has effects on the metabolism of insulin and glucose as well as the levels of sex hormones.
It’s important to know that the metabolism of insulin and glucose, as well as the levels of sex hormones, play a major role in incidents of prostate cancer.
Wilson and her colleagues investigated further the association between coffee and prostate cancer.
The result of their investigation revealed that men who consumed the most coffee showed a 60 percent lower risk of aggressive prostate cancer compared to men who did not.
According to them, this is the first major study that looked into the overall risks of both prostate cancer and also the localized and advanced forms of the fatal disease.
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What was previously thought…
As coffee contains several active components in the form of minerals and antioxidants, it is inaccurate to say that caffeine is the primary source that affects our metabolism.
In the past, only a few lifestyle factors, and daily habits were known to be consistently linked to prostate cancer, especially with the risk of aggressive disease.
Therefore, this study might be of great significance in order to understand the biology and growth of prostate cancer. It may also help with possible approaches that will lead to the prevention of invasive conventional treatments.
It follows that coffee drinkers have no reason to stop drinking their favorite beverage.
However, men with an enlarged prostate or BPH, and prostate infection or prostatitis, should limit coffee intake. Or much better, they should set a stop time for coffee or liquid intake within the day.
This is because the caffeine present in your favorite coffee beverage may stimulate the bladder and can make your symptoms worse and troublesome.
Although the caffeine in coffee may increase urinary urgency, urinary frequency, bladder irritation, and increased pain, it is not the cause of an enlarged prostate or prostatitis.
Coffee and caffeine are, in fact, good for your prostate health.
A study with surprising results
Another study on coffee consumption says that four or more cups of coffee a day could lead to a reduced risk of the recurrence of prostate cancer and the progression of the disease.
This study was published in the Journal of Cancer Causes and Control. 1,001 prostate cancer patients were analyzed at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. All of them were diagnosed with prostate cancer, ages 35 to 74 years old.
The patients completed a food frequency questionnaire two years before diagnosis. They were required to give information regarding their diet and beverage consumption.
The researchers ran a follow-up analysis five years after the participants’ first diagnosis to find out whether the prostate cancer had recurred and/or progressed.
Of the original 1,001 participants, 630 then answered questions about their coffee intake and were included in the final results.
The data analysis manifested that 12% of the patients consumed four or more cups of coffee daily and showed a 59% decreased risk of recurrence of the disease compared to patients who consumed one cup or less of coffee each week.
The positive effects of coffee
Milan Geybels, a previous student at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and lead author of the study, says the results of this study differ from those of other studies looking at the same link, as the researchers used a “composite definition” of prostate cancer recurrence/progression. He adds:
“We used detailed information on follow-up prostate-specific antigen levels, use of secondary treatment for prostate cancer and data from scans and biopsies to assess the occurrence of metastases and cause-specific mortality during follow up. “
Using these detailed data, we could determine whether a patient had evidence of prostate cancer recurrence or progression.”
Additionally, the study also revealed that biological activities that are therefore linked to the consumption of phytochemical compounds that are found in coffee could practically exhibit both anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.
These are the main characteristic derived from the consumption of coffee that is very helpful to prostate health.
The researchers also mentioned that the phytochemical compounds present include the following functions in the body. The naturally-occurring compounds are discussed below:
- Caffeine, “which can inhibit cell growth and encourage apoptosis.”
- Diterpenes cafestol and kahweol, “which can inhibit cancer growth.”
- Chlorogenic acid, “which can inhibit DNA methylation.”
Does coffee reduce prostate cancer risk?
An increasing number of studies have reviewed the link between compounds in coffee and prostate cancer risk. As evidence increases. coffee is getting its share of the spotlight.
Recently, researchers from Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medical Science in Japan tested coffee compounds against prostate cancer in mice. Specifically, they used cells that were resistant to standard cancer drugs, such as cabazitaxel.
When they added kahweol acetate and cafestol to prostate cancer cells in a petri dish, the cells grew less rapidly.
“We found that kahweol acetate and cafestol inhibited the growth of the cancer cells in mice, but the combination seemed to work synergistically, leading to significantly slower tumor growth than in untreated mice,”“After 11 days, the untreated tumors had grown by around [3.5] times the original volume (342 percent), whereas the tumors in the mice treated with both compounds had grown by around just over [1.5] (167 percent) times the original size.” explains study leader, Dr. Hiroaki Iwamoto.
In another study from 2021, researchers looked at 16 prospective cohort studies with 57,732 cases of prostate cancer and 1,081,586 total cohort members. The researchers concluded that a higher intake of coffee consumption was significantly associated with a lower risk of prostate cancer.
Can coffee aggravate the prostate?
For men who have benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), drinking coffee could be an issue. This is because caffeine can stimulate an already overactive bladder, increasing urinary frequency. and urgency.
Some studies suggest coffee may also be a bladder irritant. Therefore, men with urinary issues may consider curbing coffee intake to see if it helps improve urinary issues.
Individuals with lower urinary tract symptoms should avoid or be cautious in consuming caffeine-containing foodstuffs.
This pilot study trial found that drinking decaffeinated coffee instead of caffeinated drinks may improve urinary symptoms. Therefore, decaffeinated coffee may provide health benefits without causing bladder irritation.
However, high doses of caffeine can cause other health issues, such as irregular heartbeat and seizures.
The way in which coffee is prepared can also be a factor. A 2015 study in Norway looked at coffee brewed with a filter, and boiled coffee, which doesn’t use such a filter. The study found that men who drank boiled coffee seemed to have a lower risk of prostate cancer than men who drank a cup of coffee prepared another way.
The chemicals cafestol and kahweol have well-known cancer-fighting abilities. Researchers believe these chemicals are trapped when coffee runs through a paper filter. Boiled coffee may allow these cancer-fighting chemicals to stay in your daily brew.
Conclusion
A coffee a day can provide a number of health benefits, but it is important to remember that it can have both positive and negative effects on men’s health.
The findings of several studies, most recently the study published in 2018, indicate that coffee compounds can benefit prostate health and possibly reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer.
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