Can coffee protect men from sun’s harmful rays?

COULD drinking coffee lower a man’s risk of skin cancer?

Men who drank caffeinated coffee were 70 per cent less likely to develop melanoma than those who did not, according to a study of 500,000 people published in the International Journal of Cancer.

The researchers, from Imperial College London, believe caffeine contains compounds that act like sunscreen, blocking some effects of UVB radiation and killing off damaged cells which could otherwise become cancerous.

Women and decaff coffee drinkers did not have a reduced risk — it’s not clear why.