A Coffee (or 3) a Day Keeps Skin Cancer Away?

If you simply can’t get through your day without a cup (or three) of coffee, good news: That coffee may also be reducing your skin cancer risk. A new study finds that the more coffee subjects reported drinking, the lower their risk of contracting basal cell carcinoma, the most common type of skin cancer. However, the study only uncovered the association—it did not establish cause-and-effect—and one dermatologist does not suggest developing a coffee habit solely to guard against skin cancer, USA Today reports.

The study found that women who drank more than three cups per day were 20% less likely to get basal cell carcinoma than those who drank less than one cup per month. Three-times-daily male drinkers, on the other hand, had only 9% lower risk. Decaffeinated coffee did not have the same effect, and even caffeinated coffee was not found to reduce the risk of two other types of skin cancer. (More coffee stories.)