A study conducted in Japan finds that drinking coffee can reduce the risk of mouth and throat cancers by half. If true, this would be another entry in a sizable list of benefits that have recently been attributed to drinking the brewed beverage.

Researchers at Tohoku University in Japan analyzed data from a group of more than 38,000 people aged 40 to 64 who were enrolled in the Miyagi Cohort Study. They report in the American Journal of Epidemiology that people who drank one or more cups of coffee per day had half the risk of developing cancer of the mouth, pharynx, and esophagus compared to people who did not drink coffee.

The reduction in cancer risk occurred both in people who are at high risk for these cancers because they drink alcohol and/or smoke, and in people who did not have an elevated risk of these cancers. The best way to lower your risk of these cancers is to quitting smoking and drinking, but coffee consumption seems to be another way to significantly reduce risk.

The consumption of coffee in Japan is relatively high, as it is in the United States. Recent studies conducted in Europe and America have found benefits of coffee that include lowering the risk of type 2 diabetes, reducing Parkinson’s disease risk by as much as 80 percent, cutting colon cancer risk, lowering the risk of cavities, and even treating headaches.

However, people should be cautioned not to overdo it: most of these studies (including the present one) find benefits to drinking moderate amounts of coffee, and consuming too much of this caffeinated beverage can cause heart palpitations and increases in blood pressure. Coffee can also aggravate gastrointestinal conditions such as GERD and ulcers. Pregnant women, heart patients, and those at high risk for osteoporosis are usually counseled to avoid coffee.

To find out more about the health benefits of coffee, conduct a Healia Web search. For more information about mouth and throat cancers, join the Healia Health Community for Esophageal Cancer or the Healia Health Community for Oral Cancer.


_{Photo: Marcelo Alves, Flickr, Creative Commons}