Could Coffee Cut Risk of Endometrial Cancer?

A recent report from the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) and the World Cancer Research Fund International (WCRF) shows that women who maintain a healthy weight and exercise regularly greatly reduce their risk of endometrial cancer, the most common cancer of the female reproductive system.

Statistics show that with approximately 49,600 new cases of endometrial cancer develop each year in the United States alone, a health problem that even exceeds the number combined of annual ovarian and cervical cancer cases.

Fortunately, lead study author Elisa Bandera, MD, Ph.D., epidemiologist at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey concluded that there was a potential 59 percent reduction in endometrial cancer when women exercised up to 30 minutes a day and avoided excess body fat.

"Fat cells ... secrete estrogen and that's one reason why obesity can cause endometrial cancer," said Bandera, via NBC News. "There is a very strong and consistent association with obesity."

"Women who are obese have two to three times the rate of endometrial cancer. People who are more active regularly tend to have a decreased risk of endometrial cancer," she added.

She goes on to explain that besides maintaining a healthy weight, along with regular exercise, researchers found that coffee consumption and low glycemic levels played an important role in lowering the risk for this type of cancer. For instance, the study shows that drinking coffee could lower the risk for endometrial cancer while a heavy consumption of highly processed foods--sugars and grains---increased the risk.

As Bandera shows through the study that coffee is filled with antioxidants and inversely, high-glycemic foods create the overproduction of glucose and insulin in the bloodstream in which cancerous environments can fester, important lifestyle changes all play an essential factor in the prevention of this and other health issues. 

What do you think?

More information regarding the study can be found via the AICR's Cancer Research Update.