Your Coffee Maker – Does It Help Your Prostate?

Coffee Often Gets Negative 'Press'

For many years the 'press' for coffee has largely been negative, mainly attributable to its caffeine content and it's effects.

I well remember going for a flight medical some years ago. At the time I was renewing a private pilots license and the aviation doctor performing the examination took an ECG to re-discover a heart murmur that I had known about for years. Once discovered the first question was - How many cups of coffee do you drink a day?

At the time I was in a desk bound occupation and coffee was readily on hand so the answer was about 8 or 10. The reaction was predictable and rapid - cut down on the coffee intake and off to see a heart specialist.

Anyway enough of the negative because recently there have been a few good pieces of news about coffee and those that drink moderate to significant amounts of the beverage.

Some Coffee Good News

In September 2010 an interesting article appeared in WebMD with the title 'Coffee and Your Health'. Other sources also picked up on the same commentary. This particular article went on to say that there was a growing body of information showing that moderate coffee drinkers were less likely to succumb to a number of more common ailments and diseases. Of note were

• Type 2 Diabetes
• Parkinson's Disease
• Dementia

And fewer instances of

• Some types of cancers
• Heart rhythm problems
• and Stroke

Now while this all sounds really interesting and exciting before you run off and increase your coffee consumption there is a down side. The results are not based on a rigorous scientific study - more on a questioning of peoples' coffee drinking habits. So there is no scientifically proven result that says coffee drinking will definitely offer protection. But the signs are good.

And Now The Prostate Connection

But where does the prostate come in all this. Well there was another article on WebMD dated May 2011 with the title 'Coffee May Lower Prostate Cancer Risk.'

This article deals specifically with a finding that there is a 20% lower risk of developing prostate cancer if you consume six or more cups of coffee per day when compared with those who drink none.

And the protection was even higher for the most lethal form of prostate cancer even at a lower consumption. For those on one to three cups a day the risk reduced by 29%. While those consuming six or more cups per day the lethal prostate cancer risk reduced 60% relative to those who did not drink any coffee.

But here is the interesting thing - it looks like caffeine is not the active agent in all of this. It did not matter whether it was a normal cup of coffee or a decaffeinated cup the results were the same. So whether you like the buzz of caffeine or have to avoid it for other health reasons then drinking coffee can still be helpful.

Researchers were not sure what the reason was for the cancer reduction benefit of coffee. Because as others said coffee is complex with many components not all of which have been isolated. So this is not a license to fire up the coffee maker and start drinking copious cups of coffee with impunity. But it certainly adds to the enjoyment knowing that it is not as bad as perhaps commonly thought.

Make Sure You Have Your Prostate Checked

And now for those of you who are wondering why my interest in coffee and prostate cancer here is the answer.

First and foremost it is to encourage any male over 50 out there (younger if there is a family history) who is in two minds about having his prostate checked - to just do it. It may save your life

Suffer the minor indignity of a digital examination - because that is all that it is. And get a blood test for your PSA, (prostate specific antigen) even though it is not totally definitive. My PSA was never very high.

If you have never investigated it, it is surprising the number of men who die from prostate cancer each year. In Australia - where I live - the number of men who die from prostate cancer each year equals the number of women who die of breast cancer. But the girls do a better job of checking and talking about it. Just think how often you hear about breast cancer.

Second I was diagnosed with BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia) or enlargement of the prostate a number or years ago. This gradually became such a problem I underwent a TURP (re-bore in colloquial terms) which on the face of it was fine.

But 24 hours later the pathology told a different story with some prostate cancer being detected in the removed material. Then it was a matter of watch and wait for some months before undergoing a TRUS biopsy (you can check the medical acronym - but it is a multiple needle biopsy of the prostate)

And the good news was that it was all clear. So I thought I was in the clear. But a second TRUS 12 months later by a diligent surgeon told a different story, with more cancer being detected in one small section.

What to do now? Well it was obvious that at 66 the prostate had to come out and this occurred in early 2011 using DaVinci Robot surgery and the same diligent surgeon.

Life is not quite back to normal but the prognosis is excellent. And as my GP said shortly afterwards - You won't get prostate cancer now

And finally the real enjoyable part - I still drink five to eight cups of coffee a day and love it. Maybe the coffee helped keep my prostate cancer in check maybe not - one will never know.

So this a final challenge to make sure you get your prostate checked annually if you're in one of those critical age groups - and keep enjoying your coffee.

A good way to enjoy your coffee one cup at a time is with a Tassimo Coffee Maker. This unique single serve beverage machine is probably one of the best Coffee Maker that you can use to make your coffee one cup at a time. Just don't forget that annual checkup