Coffee and Exercise: Can this combination protect you from skin cancer?

Researchers were in the process of investigating the role green tea plays in preventing cancer and were comparing decaffeinated and caffeine-containing brews when they discovered the mice given the caffeine tea liked to get on their exercise wheels. The result was they found those mice given caffeine who were exercising had fewer skin cancer cells when exposed to UV-B light!

It is no secret that caffeine can enhance exercise, which is why limits are put on how much can be found in the bloodstream of professional athletes and Olympians. And there is plenty of research supporting the theory that exercise can help decrease the risk of many cancers. But I can’t recall a study that has looked at the combination of caffeine and exercise before!

Cells with damaged DNA are programmed to self-destruct, a process called apoptosis, but not all does that, and damaged cells can become cancerous. Compared with the control animals, those drinking caffeine had a 95 percent increase in apoptosis in damaged cells. The exercisers showed a 120 percent increase, and the mice that were both drinking and running showed a nearly 400 percent increase.

Researchers don’t yet understand the mechanism for this, but they do have several theories. They now hope to start research on humans because there is a huge upward trend in the incidence of skin cancer among Americans, so finding new ways to protect from sun damage is at a premium.

So what can we take away from this research? First of all, I decided to write about it because it was so unique. As I read the study, however, I am always fascinated by how researchers discover what may be a groundbreaking solution! Who knows!? I think Dr. Michael H. Gold, a Nashville, Tenn., dermatologist and a spokesman for the Skin Cancer Foundation, said it best, though: “If you go outside, you have to wear a sunscreen ... it has to be caffeine and exercise with your sunscreen.”

Again, there is that recommendation to exercise! Need I say more??

Oh, and by the way, researchers found that decaffeinated tea did not protect against skin cancer.

To read the abstract of the study, click here: http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/104/31/12936