Pancreatic cancer is one of the most fatal forms of cancer -- more than 30,000 adults die from pancreatic cancer annually, according to Johns Hopkins University. As with other types of cancer, you can reduce your pancreatic cancer risk with certain changes to your diet. Coffee and tea are two popular beverages that have been studied for their effect on pancreatic cancer risk.
Background
Your pancreas is the Swiss army knife of organs -- it has a number of crucial functions in your body. Your pancreas is important for digestion as it produces digestive enzymes -- compounds required for the digestion and absorption of carbohydrates, protein and fat. Also, the pancreas is the chief center for keeping your body's blood glucose levels in check. It accomplishes this feat by producing and releasing insulin, a hormone that lowers blood sugar levels. Pancreatic cancer develops when a pancreas cell becomes deformed and begins to reproduce uncontrollably.
Coffee
A research study published in the July 2011 issue of the "European Journal of Cancer Prevention" investigated the effect of habitual coffee consumption on risk of developing pancreatic cancer in a group of 3,000 adults. The researchers found that coffee drinkers had a slightly increased risk of pancreatic cancer while tea had no effect. However, they concluded that coffee didn't have a significant impact on pancreatic cancer risk due to the fact that heavy coffee drinkers had the same risk as those who drank coffee occasionally.
Tea
Green tea is rich in a unique substance known as epigalocatechin gallate. A test tube study presented at the Third International Conference on the Development of Biomedical Engineering in Vietnam found that epigalocatechin gallate inhibited the growth of pancreatic cancer cells. However, the aforementioned "European Journal of Cancer Prevention" study discovered that tea drinkers -- including green tea drinkers -- had the same risk of pancreatic cancer as those who seldom drank tea.
Considerations
Research suggests that coffee and tea have no connection to pancreatic cancer, and they are generally safe and well-tolerated beverages. Green tea's epigalocatechin gallate has a number of important health benefits, including cardiovascular disease risk reduction. You can help to keep pancreatic cancer at bay by exercising regularly, consuming a healthy diet rich in antioxidants and avoiding cigarette smoke.
References
- Johns Hopkins University: Basics of Pancreatic Cancer
- "European Journal of Cancer Prevention"; Coffee, Decaffeinated Coffee, Tea, and Pancreatic Cancer Risk: a Pooled-Analysis of Two Italian Case-control Studies; T. Federicaa, et al.; July 2011
- "Third International Conference on the Development of Biomedical Engineering in Vietnam"; Green Tea Epigalocatechin Gallate Exhibits Anticancer Effect in Human Pancreatic Carcinoma Cells via Inhibition of Both FAK and IGF-1R; H.A. Vu, et al.; 2010
