Coffee could protect the liver

Coffee doesn’t just wake you up—it could also protect the liver.

People who drink more coffee tend to have a lower risk of cirrhosis, liver cancer, and fatal liver disease.

Those who drink five or more cups per day had a 32 percent lower risk of cirrhosis, a 47 percent lower risk of liver cancer, and a 42 percent reduced risk of dying from liver disease compared with non-coffee drinkers.

Researchers from Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University examined data from 354,957 UK Biobank participants who had no history of cirrhosis or liver cancer when the study began. Using linked medical records, the team tracked new cases of cirrhosis, liver cancer, and liver-related death over a median period of 13 years.  The rate of disease was far lower in coffee drinkers, they found.

If the idea of drinking five cups of coffee every day seems a bit too much, the researchers found that even drinking one or two cups also had a protective effect.  The sweet spot seemed to be between three and four cups of coffee a day.

Even then, coffee doesn’t agree with everyone, the researchers say, and maintaining a healthy weight, limiting alcohol, exercising regularly, and managing blood sugar levels and blood pressure are also important factors to reduce the risk of liver problems.

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