Caffeine and Breast Cancer

Since we are still in Pink Month (Breast Cancer Awareness) I thought I would write another blog about a new study in Archives of Internal Medicine on caffeine and breast cancer risk.

Many women who have fibrocystic breast disease have noticed that their symptoms got better when they removed caffeine from their diet. So it makes sense that someone should study whether caffeine consumption is related to risk of breast cancer.

The findings from a study of over 38,000 women found that consumption of caffeine was not associated with overall risk of breast cancer. Among those women with benign (non-cancer) breast disease, there was a positive association in the women who were drinking more than 4 cups of coffee per day.

Overall breast cancer risk was not found to be a statistically significant association. However, there were positive associations for certain types of breast cancer (those that have tumors that estrogen and progesterone do not bind) and with tumors larger than 2 centimeters.

Bottom line
Caffeine is fine in small to moderate quantities. Coffee has the highest concentration of caffeine than any other beverage. Limit consumption to no more than 16 ounces of coffee daily. This is good for men and women alike. Caffeine has other side effects that can be unpleasant and unhealthy in doses more than about 350 mg per day (about 16 ounces of coffee). Find out how much caffeine you are drinking by learning caffeine content in common beverages.

Photo courtesy of dreamstime.com

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