You may be receiving more benefits from your daily coffee than you think, as coffee may be helping you to decrease the development of colon cancer.

Researchers believe trigonelline or trig, a natural compound found in coffee beans and used for treating post-menopausal women in traditional Indian culture, can be linked to estrogen-dependent breast cancer, even though it is beneficial for preventing the development of colon cancer development.

Trig it is believed has the ability to act like a hormone, with a tie to cancer, but that does not suggest it actually causes the disease., and there should not be any concern about drinking coffee, at this point of time.

Dr. Clinton Allred, a scientist with AgriLife Research nutrition scientist, who studies dietary compounds able to mimic estradiol, the primary hormone in women and one of the three estrogen hormones, focuses mainly on looking at how estrogen protects against colon cancer development.

Allred says the chemical structure of trig is unlike estradiol and does not believe the compound would be estrogenic. He adds different amounts of trig are present in coffee beans, depending on the coffee bean variety.

He explains the numerous compounds in each food product result in complex interactions, which is why nutritionists advise people whole food is far better than any individual compound. This is why one cannot simply take supplements and think they will make up for food.

The study has been published in the Journal of Nutrition.