Interesting skin cancer prevention discovery

Skin cancer and coffee don’t often go in the same sentence, but a new study has made them an unusual couple. Scientists at the United States Government Health Research Department conducted a study of over 450,000 men and women across 10 years. The average age of the volunteers was 63 at the beginning of the study and all were free of malignant melanoma.

By the end of the study just under 3,000 of them had been diagnosed with skin cancer. The interesting find, that would published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, was that 90% of the group drank coffee and the more they drank, the less likely they were to be diagnosed with skin cancer. Those who drank four cups a day were in fact, 20% less likely to suffer from skin cancer than those who didn’t drink coffee at all.

According to the Daily Mail, the study did take into account factors that may have influenced results including whether or not the volunteers smoked, drank and how much sunlight their hometown received. The Daily Mail also reports that previous analysis has proved caffeine can trigger the death of UV damaged cells and leave health cells without damage, suggesting it is well received by the body.

We all know coffee isn’t the healthiest drink on any menu, with other studies linking high caffeine intake to high blood pressure and other health complications.

But, this is an interesting link.

Tell us, are you a coffee drinker? How many cups a day do you have?