This tip is part of a handful of columns that we YOU Docs consider among the most important stories we covered in 2011.
As far as we YOU Docs can tell, all of America (not just Dr. Mike) would grind to halt without coffee. We average about 3.4 cups per coffee drinker a day. Great news! Because in the war against cancer, coffee — lots of it — has become one of the most beneficial weapons you never suspected. In 2011, coffee was linked to lower rates of:
1. Endometrial cancer. Big coffee drinkers are 25 percent less likely to develop it than women who don’t finish a cup. Dose: at least four cups a day.
2. Prostate cancer. It detests coffee. The newest data show that high test AND decaf repel even the most lethal type. Dose: one to six cups daily.
3. The most common skin cancer. If basal cell carcinoma gets a toehold, coffee acts to shut it down. Dose: more than three cups a day.
4. Breast cancer. Heavy coffee drinkers run a 20 percent to 50 percent lower risk of some breast cancers after menopause, versus women who sip less than a cup. Dose: at least five cups a day.
That’s not all. In 2011, coffee was confirmed to ward off Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, as well as type 2 diabetes.
What if you don’t like coffee? Fortunately, caffeine is one of coffee’s key protective compounds, and there are plenty of other places to get it, including caffeinated water plus green and black tea. Drinking them can give you instant smarts to deal with tough tasks, like switching cell-phone services.
The You Docs — Mehmet Oz, host of “The Dr. Oz Show” and Mike Roizen of Cleveland Clinic — are authors of “YOU: Losing Weight.” To submit questions, go to www.RealAge.com. A King Features syndicate.
