Coffee Might Reduce Your Risk for a Serious Skin Cancer

Latte
David Maez/Thrillist
David Maez/Thrillist

New research indicates that coffee is good for more than just making mornings tolerable. A study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute says that coffee may help reduce the risk of developing malignant melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.

A team of researchers recruited 447,000 non-Hispanic white subjects (since they're at a higher risk for skin cancer) for the experiment. They had each person fill out a questionnaire about their eating and drinking habits and then followed up 10 years later. What they discovered was that the most frequent coffee drinkers of the group -- we're talking four or more cups a day -- had a 20% lower risk for developing malignant melanoma than their peers who drank less joe. The scientists theorized that the secret may lie in a chlorogenic acid and a caffeic acid contained in coffee. Those acids were effective in suppressing UVB-induced skin carcinogenesis in another study with mice, so drinking coffee might just be a legit health move. Quitting now seems even sillier.

Kristin Hunt is a Food/Drink staff writer for Thrillist, and might need to drink more coffee. Follow her at @kristin_hunt.