Men's Health 101: Coffee and Prostate Cancer

When it comes to the basics of men's health, you may be wondering if coffee is a friend or foe to protect your health for the future.

Sure, coffee has gotten a bad rap for men in the past. Coffee contains compounds that could cause issues for men with BPH, or enlarged prostate. But if you are concerned about prostate cancer, recent studies have proven that drinking caffeinated coffee is still a safe choice.

If you do have BPH, consult with your doctor. Coffee may stimulate an overactive bladder and cause frequent urination to result in incontinence. However, according to research from the National Cancer Center in South Korea, drinking coffee doesn’t have any link with prostate cancer.

The study evaluated 12 different studies that compared coffee drinking to the risk of prostate cancer. There was no significant risk increase found from regularly drinking coffee, although many researchers believe that drinking green tea would be a better choice if you are at risk for prostate cancer.

However, a large study done on 50,000 men over two decades documented 4,975 cases of prostate cancer. The researchers from Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health discovered that the men that drank the most coffee had a 60% reduced risk of advanced prostate cancer. The scientists concluded that there is no reason to cut out coffee altogether if you are concerned about prostate cancer.