Coffee could prevent cancer
Published: September 12, 2005
Is a cup of coffee the nation’s No. 1 source of cancer prevention?
According to a study by University of Scranton Chemistry Prof. Joe Vinson, coffee is the No. 1 source of antioxidants - cancer-fighting enzymes - in American diets. Vinson and his research team, who have previously done studies on chocolate’s benefits, analyzed the antioxidant content of various foods commonly consumed in the average American diet based on data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Dates, red grapes, pomegranates and other fruits are richer than coffee in antioxidants, in addition to providing fiber and other nutrients, but Americans do not eat much fruit in comparison, according to Vinson.
“We drink more coffee by weight than we do fruit and a little less than vegetables - a stinging indictment of our diet in my opinion - although I do drink one cup of coffee for its caffeine effect,” Vinson wrote in an e-mail.
Vinson’s findings came as no surprise to first-year College student Allison Harbin, who, sitting outside Newcomb Hall with an empty Greenberry’s cup yesterday, said, “I couldn’t wake up this morning. I felt incomplete - until I had my first cup.”
She added, “I’m definitely … addicted to coffee, but there are worse things to be addicted to.”
University Cancer Center dietician, Carole Havrila, a self-described regular coffee drinker, said studies on coffee’s benefits have come out in the past.
“A lot of people think that coffee should be eliminated [from one’s diet] because caffeine has a diuretic effect,” she said. “People are always trying to prove that coffee causes cancer, but most studies show that moderate consumption - one or two cups a day - can actually be beneficial.”
Vinson advised that other sources of antioxidants may be better for one’s health than coffee.
“Get a lot of plant foods in your diet: veggies and fruits, grains, nuts, spices,” Vinson said. “Non-fruit beverages have their pluses and minuses for health, except for tea.”
How good coffee is for the body depends on how the body absorbs its nutrients, a process that remains to be studied.
Regardless of differences of opinion on the health benefits of coffee, most health professionals agree on the benefit of antioxidants, Havrila said.
“I explain it to patients: If you can think about how something rusts, that’s what oxidation does to our cells,” she said. “So antioxidants are like Rustoleum for your cells.”
As for other foods that can increase antioxidant intake and prevent cancer, Havrila advocated five to seven servings of fruits and vegetables a day.
It is overwhelming how a diet full of fruits and vegetables is protective against cancer and other diseases, she added.
She also advised people to cut down on refined foods, citing the new food pyramid that places a heavy emphasis on whole grains, as opposed to processed grains.
Vinson’s study was funded largely by the American Cocoa Institute. No representative from the organization was available for comment.
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