Coffee and tea drinkers may have a slightly reduced risk of kidney cancer, according to new research from Harvard Medical School.
In this study, data from 13 studies were pooled and analyzed. After seven to 20 years, the findings suggest that coffee and tea may protect against kidney cancer, regardless of a person's weight, blood pressure or smoking history.
Milk, soda and juice seem to have no effect one way or the other.
Drinking three or more cups of coffee a day was associated with 16 percent less risk of developing kidney cancer than drinking less than a cup per day. Enjoying one cup of tea each day was linked to 15 percent lower risk of kidney cancer when compared to not drinking tea at all.
Coffee and tea appear to increase the body's sensitivity to the blood-sugar-regulating hormone insulin, and researchers suspect that insulin levels over time may affect kidney cancer risk.
In previous research, coffee was shown to contain antioxidants that may help protect cells in the kidney from cancer-promoting damage.
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