Fighting Skin Cancer with Coffee

Looking to fight the sun's dangerous rays this summer? Then stock up on suntan lotion and coffee, because the National Academy of Sciences recently reported the combination of suntan lotion and caffeine can reduce cancerous tumors by half.

The study, performed by Rutgers University, exposed 90 mice to high levels of ultraviolet radiation twice daily for 20 consecutive days. At the start of the study the mice were divided into three groups, one group was protected with acetone or suntan lotion and caffeine, one group with suntan lotion and an antioxidant called EGCG, and the third group with just suntan lotion.

The results might leave you speechless because the mice treated with both suntan lotion and caffeine had 72% less tumors than those treated with suntan lotion and EGCG, and 66% less than suntan lotion alone.

Unlike sunscreen, the suntan lotion didn't contain any SPF or preventative from the sun's ultraviolet rays. However, the addition of caffeine did apparently prevent their skin from absorbing the ultraviolet rays of the sun. Researchers concluded that while caffeine does not necessarily have the same effect as sunscreen, it is yet another way we can prevent the adverse effects of the sun's damaging rays.