Physical Condition Benefits of Coffee and Tea Embrace Security Touching Brain Tumors:
Good
news for the coffee and tea drinkers among us. A new study suggests that the
benefits of coffee and tea might include a lower chance of developing the most
common type of malignant brain tumors. The findings are the result of a study
of over half a million European adults and add weight to recent U.S. work that
linked higher coffee and tea intake to a lower risk of glooms, a type of tumor
that accounts for almost 80% of malignant brain cancers in adults.
The
findings come from an ongoing study looking at potential risk factors for
brain cancer in ten European countries. At the start, 521,488 adults between 25 and
70 years old filled out detailed questionnaires on their diet, exercise habits,
smoking status and other lifestyle factors as well as their complete medical
history. For this particular analysis, the team centered on just over 400,000
participants who were frees of cancer and also had supplied complete dietary
information.
Over
8 and half years of follow up, 343 of the subjects were diagnosed with gloom; a
further 245 were diagnosed with a normally benign type of brain tumor known as
meningioma.
Things
got interesting when the researchers grouped subjects by coffee/tea intake and
then looked at two groups in particular.
One
group averaged at least 3.5 ounces of coffee/tea per day, the other drank less
than this amount, or none at all. The heavier coffee/tea drinkers were a third
less likely to be diagnosed with gloom, even after factors like age and smoking
history were taken into account. There was no connection with meningioma risk.
The
thing is, there was no dose response association (if you drank more you got
better protection), generally considered a stronger indication of
cause-and-effect. The difficulty could come from the problems involved in
accurately measuring how much coffee or tea the study subjects actually drank.
Of
course, these findings, no matter how promising, do not mean that these two
beverages themselves bring the protection. It's still too early to be sure.
It
is biologically possible that coffee or tea could affect the risk of gloom. A
recent study in the lab showed that caffeine appears to slow down the
development of glioblastoma, a type of gloom.
We
also know that both coffee and tea have antioxidants that are known to help
protect cells from damage that leads to cancer and other diseases. It may just
be that those who drink these beverages have other characteristics that could
impact the likelihood they develop gloom.
Brain
tumors are not very common, and in Europe the annual rates are estimated at 4
to 6 cases for every 100,000 women and 6 to 8 cases for every 100,000 men. The
odds that you will develop a cancerous brain tumor in your lifetime are
actually less than 1%. Researchers have also identified some risks - radiation
therapy (most commonly of the head) or genetic predisposition is considered
likely. As are being male, white and over 70 years old. Findings on links with
brain tumors and diet or chemical exposure remain inconclusive.
Research
on cell phones continues as well, though so far no study has found an increase
risk of brain tumors among users.
If
you're concerned about your own risk or want to learn more about the benefits
of coffee and tea, talk with your doctor to learn things you might to do to
help yourself stay healthy, as well as plan checkups going forward. Being proactive
and staying informed is important.