Cups of coffee Reuters (Photo : Reuters)
A new medical study from the United Kingdom shows four cups of coffee daily could reduce a woman's risk of getting endometrial cancer.
Researchers from the Imperial College London studied the dietary habits of some 2,800 women diagnosed with cancer of the endometrium, the lining of the uterus. Overall, the researchers examined data from two ongoing studies involving 456,000 women.
Surprisingly, they found that women that drank some four cups of coffee everyday had an 18 percent lower risk of getting endometrial cancer compared to women who drank less than a cup a day.
Three out of four women afflicted with endometrial cancer are 55 years and older, said the American Cancer Society. This means this age group benefits the most from drinking four cups of coffee daily, said Medical Daily.
"We were not surprised by the results that a high versus low intake of coffee was associated with a reduced risk for endometrial cancer, because they were consistent with what has been observed in previous studies," said the study's lead author Melissa Merritt, a cancer researcher at the Imperial College London in England.
Researchers said they did find a link between coffee and a reduced risk for endometrial cancer. They were, however, unable to find a cause-and-effect relationship between coffee drinking and lower risk of endometrial cancer. Researchers can't say for sure why coffee may lower the cancer risk and said further studies are needed.
Researchers believe coffee reduces estrogen levels in a woman's body and changes the balance of hormones. The risk of endometrial cancer increases if the balance between estrogen and progesterone leans toward estrogen.
The study didn't differentiate between regular coffee and decaf leaving researchers unable to determine if one is better than the other.
There have been more than 19,000 studies examining the health impacts of drinking coffee, said Consumer Health Day.
"Overall, the research shows that coffee is far more healthful than it is harmful," said Dr. Tomas DePaulis, a research scientist at Vanderbilt University's Institute for Coffee Studies.
