Coffee reduces risks of cancer: Study

Chennai, Mar 4: Drinking strong coffee not only refreshes one's mind but also reduces risks of cancer and diabetes type II, according to studies by an eminent radiation biologist.

Coffee, once perceived as unhealthy, was indeed capable of removing harmful entities and preventing various types of cancer, including tobacco-induced carcinogenesis (production of cancerous tumours), pancreatic cancer and alcohol-related liver cirrhosis, said radiation biologist P C Kesavan, who was also former Director, Bio-Medical Group in Baba Atomic Research Centre.

Now a distinguished fellow at M S Swaminathan Research Foundation here, he had conducted several researches on the effects of caffeine.

International studies in the past six to seven years had also demonstrated various health benefits of caffeine, including significant reduction of risks to diabetes type II, cardiovascular diseases, Parkinson's disease and stones, he said.

Laboratory-based basic research had suggested that the substances in coffee (potassium, magnesium, niacin, caffeine, chlorogenic acid and other phenolic compounds) benefit glucose and insulin metabolism.

Stating that coffee as a health drink had completely overran green tea, herbal tea and red wine, he said Robusta coffee beans had twice the antioxidants of Arabica beans.

Dr Kesavan said eminent agriculture scientist M S Swaminathan had suggested development of organic coffee and coffee beans with elevated levels of caffeine and chlorogenic acid for radiation workers, radiologists and others in stressful occupations.

As modern day living was becoming increasingly stressful, good ''coffee breaks'' with real good ''freshly ground coffee'' would do immense good, he said.

Dr Kesavan began his research way back in 1972 to study, if caffeine inhibited the repair of DNA damage induced by Cobalt-60 gamma rays. Surprisingly, the ''inhibitor of DNA repair'' turned out to be a ''protector,'' as findings revealed that caffeine exerted substantial protection against the oxic (oxygen-dependent) pathway of radiation damage, he said.

A research to examine what caffeine would do to radiation-induced free radicals within a time span of 10-12 to 10-5 seconds demonstrated that it had effectively removed harmful hydroxyl radicals and electrons.

He said the protective action of caffeine was not only limited to organisms exposed to X or gamma rays but also against cigarette (tobacco) tar-induced cancerous tumours.

It also protects humans against 'Aflatoxin B1' induced liver carcinogenesis. Aflatoxin B1, produced by a fungus 'Aspergillus flavus,' infects peanuts and many other food materials.

Dr Kesavan said large scale studies with mice at BARC during 1995-97 established the effectiveness of caffeine in extending life-span of lethally irradiated mice.

In these studies, the mice were exposed to a total whole body dose of 7.50Gy (750 rads) of gamma-rays. One set of mice were administered caffeine prior to their exposure to gamma rays, and another batch of mice was not administered caffeine.

While all the mice which did not receive caffeine.

died within 20 days of irradiation. However, 70 per cent of the mice which received caffeine pre-treatment lived beyond 90 days.

UNI