How does coffee fight cancer?

You can drink coffee while you read this. Do the chemical compounds in your coffee act right now to fight cancer in the throat, liver or colon? According to several studies, coffee consumption actually reduces the risk of cancer and other types of cancer. But how does coffee make? Is it caffeine, the roasting process or something in the coffee bean itself?

And if we can know how coffee works, can we create a drug to fight cancer directly?

Coffee vs cancer

In many studies, researchers have demonstrated the anticancer and anti-inflammatory properties of coffee. (Although some studies have not found an badociation between coffee consumption and reduced cancer risk.) In a meta-badysis

, the researchers compared people with low coffee consumption compared to those with high coffee consumption. The researchers found that coffee reduced liver cancer by 54%, cancers of the mouth and pharynx by 31%, endometrial cancer by 27%, colon cancer by 13%, cancer of the prostate of 11% and melanoma of 11%.

These same researchers discovered a dose-response relationship to coffee consumption and some types of cancer. Specifically, two extra cups of coffee a day reduce the risk of liver cancer by 27%, 12% endometrial cancer and 3% prostate cancer.

In contrast, coffee consumption appeared to increase the risk of lung cancer by 118%. However, researchers found that coffee consumption was often badociated with coffee consumption, which probably explains the increased risk of lung cancer among coffee drinkers.

Find common points

The coffee is one of the most popular drinks in the world. More Americans than ever – 63% of adults – now drink coffee every day.

The dark infusion also contains many substances that affect the human body, including caffeine, caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid and diterpenes such as cafestol and kahweol.

• caffeine. Coffee can reduce the risk of colorectal cancer through caffeine, which can precipitate carcinogens in the digestive tract, thus reducing the exposure of the intestine to these substances. Caffeine may also possess antioxidant properties and may limit the growth and migration of colon cancer cells. In cellular studies, caffeine influenced cell signaling, which inhibited cell growth and stimulated apoptosis of colorectal cancer cells.

However, researchers who studied decaffeinated coffee found that it also reduced the risk of colon cancer, showing that caffeine is not the only active compound in coffee.

• caffeic acid. The researchers found that caffeic acid has anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic and enzyme inhibitory properties. As with other coffee polyphenols, caffeic acid demonstrates anti-tumor activity.

The caffeic acid is a metabolite of another coffee compound, chlorogenic acid.

• Chlorogenic acid. Coffee is the main source of chlorogenic acid in the human diet, and the level of chlorogenic acid increases in the body depending on the amount of coffee you drink. In cellular studies, researchers have shown that chlorogenic acid appears to overproduce reactive oxygen species in cancer cells of the human colon, conferring an antitumor effect.

• Cafestol and Kahweol. These compounds have both anticarcinogenic and chemoprotective properties. As antioxidants, kahweol and cafestol protect against oxidative stress and damage to the DNA. They are thought to block proteins that activate carcinogens, thereby inhibiting cell growth and proliferation. But they also stimulate enzymes that inactivate carcinogens and increase the apoptosis of cancer cells.

Note that these are just some of the best-known coffee compounds. There are others that have not been investigated and others that have not yet been identified.

In addition, the amount of bioactive compounds in coffee depends on many factors. For example, the concentration of caffeine in coffee varies depending on the method of preparation (drip, boiled, poured, etc.), the type of coffee (regular coffee or espresso) and the darkness of the coffee beans – without talk about the type of bean itself (ie Robusta beans have twice as much caffeine as arabica beans).

In addition, the size of the coffee grounds and the number of drops of boiling water affect the concentration of chlorogenic acid; using a filter (or not) and the filter material affect kahweol concentration.

Overall, coffee is like a cancer fighter in a cup.