Coffee Isn't a Carcinogen

[47of74]

Some good news out of London;

usnews.com/news/world/articles/2016-06-15/un-coffee-no-longer-deemed-possible-carcinogen

Quote

The World Health Organization's research arm has downgraded its classification of coffee as a possible carcinogen, declaring there isn't enough proof to show a link to cancer.

But the International Agency for Research on Cancer, or IARC, also announced in a report published on Wednesday that drinking "very hot" beverages of any kind could potentially raise the cancer risk, and it classified them as "probably carcinogenic" to humans.

Experts convened by the Lyon-based IARC concluded that there was inadequate evidence to suggest coffee might cause cancer, according to a letter published in the Lancet Oncology.

"I'm not really sure why coffee was in a higher category in the first place," said Owen Yang, an epidemiologist at Oxford University who has previously studied the possible link between coffee and cancer. He was not part of the IARC expert group. "The best evidence available suggests that coffee does not raise the cancer risk," he said.

 

[LadyCrow1313]

On ‎6‎/‎15‎/‎2016 at 5:55 PM, 47of74 said:

Some good news out of London;

usnews.com/news/world/articles/2016-06-15/un-coffee-no-longer-deemed-possible-carcinogen

 

"The best evidence available suggests that coffee does not raise the cancer risk," he said.

---------------------------------

No worse than anything else in this world that we eat/drink, I suppose. That is good news, though. 

[psychicmom]

I love coffee and there are health benefits derived from drinking it. 

[louisa05]

The "very hot" drinks part of this study is, thus far, only correlative. I am actually kind of irritated that "hot drinks cause esophageal cancer" is getting so much media play as a result of this. Studies that suggest this have been floating for some time. However, they are all based on correlation and the largest one is from China where, what do you know, most people drink very hot tea regularly. 

Additionally, the correlation only seems to apply to one type of esophageal cancer--squamous cell which is the less common type and has also been shown with causative studies to be related to smoking and excessive alcohol use. The most common type of esophageal cancer (which ranks seventh among cancers killing males in North America) is adenocarcinoma. Causative studies show that it is typically caused by long term untreated acid reflex (GERD) a.k.a. heartburn. But for that, you can't get press. Not at all. And if you tell people, they say "oh, but that is really rare" (was once told so on this forum). 

That "really rare" cancer is among the fastest growing types of cancer in the U.S. It is usually discovered at stage iv when the five year survival rate is under 4%. 

And, to get directly on the thread topic, coffee has been proven to be a trigger for reflux. 

[refugee]

1 minute ago, louisa05 said:

The "very hot" drinks part of this study is, thus far, only correlative. I am actually kind of irritated that "hot drinks cause esophageal cancer" is getting so much media play as a result of this. Studies that suggest this have been floating for some time. However, they are all based on correlation and the largest one is from China where, what do you know, most people drink very hot tea regularly. 

Additionally, the correlation only seems to apply to one type of esophageal cancer--squamous cell which is the less common type and has also been shown with causative studies to be related to smoking and excessive alcohol use. The most common type of esophageal cancer (which ranks seventh among cancers killing males in North America) is adenocarcinoma. Causative studies show that it is typically caused by long term untreated acid reflex (GERD) a.k.a. heartburn. But for that, you can't get press. Not at all. And if you tell people, they say "oh, but that is really rare" (was once told so on this forum). 

That "really rare" cancer is among the fastest growing types of cancer in the U.S. It is usually discovered at stage iv when the five year survival rate is under 4%. 

And, to get directly on the thread topic, coffee has been proven to be a trigger for reflux. 

Oddly enough, the SAD (Standard American Diet) causes me heartburn. I'm not sure exactly what the cause is (gluten, dairy, sugar, legumes?), but I almost never indulge anymore. I'm pretty much "paleo/primal" as a natural way of resolving joint pain. Eliminating the heartburn was a sort of unexpected bonus.

The reason I attribute it to SAD is because when I go off (like at a wedding, which doesn't happen often, or an ethnic feast), the heartburn returns.

I drink coffee daily these days, without any reflux or heartburn, so for me it has to be some kind of food response.

I know paleo/primal has been lampooned as a fad diet by some, but it works well for me.

[louisa05]

1 minute ago, refugee said:

Oddly enough, the SAD (Standard American Diet) causes me heartburn. I'm not sure exactly what the cause is (gluten, dairy, sugar, legumes?), but I almost never indulge anymore. I'm pretty much "paleo/primal" as a natural way of resolving joint pain. Eliminating the heartburn was a sort of unexpected bonus.

The reason I attribute it to SAD is because when I go off (like at a wedding, which doesn't happen often, or an ethnic feast), the heartburn returns.

I drink coffee daily these days, without any reflux or heartburn, so for me it has to be some kind of food response.

I know paleo/primal has been lampooned as a fad diet by some, but it works well for me.

There has been some testing done lately where a camera is put in the esophagus for 2-3 days (it then dissolves) which sends pics back to a computer. It tracks what foods cause the flap separating the esophagus and stomach to open which is the real cause of reflux. The foods that always seem to trigger that reaction are as follows: 

Mint/mint oils

Chocolate (dark)

Saturated fats

Processed meats

Deep-fried food

Carbonated beverages

Caffeine

Coffee (including decaf)

Alcohol

And, additionally, nicotine. 

The notion that acidic foods cause reflux is not being backed up by the latest research at all(notice citrus is not on the list). Triggers can differ, obviously, for different people. But it is important to note that not all reflux causes symptoms. My father, who died of esophageal cancer, had no traditional "heartburn" reflux symptoms. He did have stomach pain at times and we suspect he had "silent reflux". Interestingly, "silent reflux" can be misdiagnosed as any number of things including (very commonly) mild asthma since it can cause coughing, hoarseness and mild shortness of breath. My dad was diagnosed with mild asthma which subsided about the time his stomach symptoms did as well. We now know that is likely when the cancer took over. 

And very recent studies (like just out this month) are suggesting that a diet higher in carbs and lower in fats prevents reflux and gastritis. My aunt who has been obsessed with eating a low carb or no carb diet for years has developed severe reflux, so there you go. 

For me, caffeine and deep fried food are terrible triggers. 

If you have issues with reflux, I highly recommend the book The Acid Reflux Solution by Jorge Rodriguez. He is a gastroenterologist and the book is based on sound medicine and research not fad diets or anything. It gives practical diet suggestions as well as other very practical suggestions. Since following just a few of his ideas, I am almost completely off of PPIs. 

[louisa05]

I just want to add that you are dead wrong about legumes and reflux. Beans and peas have actually been shown to have a preventative effect. Additionally, they are high in fiber and a high fiber diet has been proven to lower the incidence of reflux and gastritis.