http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/colon-cancer/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier>colon cancer >? The question has been at the heart of a number of studies that have http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15713963>produced conflicting data >. Some researchers suspect their influence might be a protective one, stemming from the high levels of antioxidants they contain. But others say they might have no effect at all or even add to the risk. Some teas, for example, contain polyamines, compounds http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15510159>thought to promote the growth of cells and possibly tumors >. Over the years, most studies of the subject have been either small or plagued by methodological flaws. But recently a team of researchers at the National Cancer Institute followed half a million Americans over 15 years. The researchers looked in detail at their diets, habits and health, and found that people who drank four or more cups of coffee a day — regular or decaf — http://www.ajcn.org/content/early/2012/06/12/ajcn.111.031328.abstract?papetoc>had a 15 percent lower risk of colon cancer > compared with coffee abstainers. While the researchers could not prove cause and effect, they did find that the link was dose-responsive: Greater coffee consumption was correlated with a lower colon cancer risk. The effect held even after they adjusted their findings for factors like exercise, family history of http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/cancer/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier>cancer >, body weight, and alcohol and cigarette use. At the same time, however, there appeared to be no relationship between cancer development and tea. As for coffee, it was unclear what exactly may be responsible for the finding of a reduced risk, though caffeine at the very least seems unlikely to be it, said Dr. Rashmi Sinha, the lead author of the study. “Coffee contains more than 1,000 compounds that could potentially affect colon cancer risk,” she added. “At this point we can’t say.” THE BOTTOM LINE Drinking coffee may have a slightly protective effect against colon cancer, though it’s not clear why Source: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/02/really-drinking-coffee-lowers-colon-cancer-risk/