Emma Miller
The greatest benefit comes from drinking 3-4 cups of coffee. For many people, coffee is their favorite, and for some, an indispensable part of their daily routine. However, there is also a steady stream of often contradictory research offering evidence of both the benefits and risks associated with coffee.
A new large study has shown that coffee of all kinds reduces the risk of chronic liver disease, liver obesity, liver cancer, and death from chronic liver disease. The greatest benefit comes from drinking 3-4 cups of coffee, even decaf, a day. Ground coffee is slightly healthier than instant coffee.
Liver disease and the long-awaited study
Every year, 2 million people die from the liver disease worldwide, with 1 million dying from complications of cirrhosis and another million from viral hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma. According to the study, the region most severely affected by liver disease is sub-Saharan Africa. This is followed by Central and South America, Eastern Europe, and Southeast Asia.
Risk factors for liver disease include alcohol consumption, being overweight, and diabetes. Medical News Today spoke with Cleveland Clinic transplant hepatologist Dr. Talal Adhami, who called the study “absolutely stunning” because of its scope.
“There have been small studies and there has been a link between liver health and coffee, but this study really drew a much larger association just because of the sheer number of patients,” he said. The authors of the study analyzed data from the British Biobank on the health of 494,585 people who were followed for an average of 10.7 years.
Of the cohort, 384,818 drank coffee, and 109,767 did not, which made up the control group of the study. Coffee drinkers consumed caffeinated, decaffeinated, ground, and instant coffee.
During the study period, the sample contained 3,600 diagnoses of chronic liver disease, 5,439 cases of chronic liver disease or fatty liver disease, and 184 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma. 301 people died from chronic liver disease.
Compared to participants who did not consume coffee, the risk of chronic liver disease in coffee drinkers was 21% lower. They also had a 19% lower risk of developing chronic or fatty liver disease, and they had a 21% lower risk of hepatocellular carcinoma. Coffee drinkers are also 49% less likely to die from liver disease.
For people who drank ground coffee, the risk reduction was even greater. Their risk of developing chronic liver disease or chronic or fatty liver disease was reduced by 35%, hepatocellular carcinoma by 34%, and death from liver disease by 61%.
Dr. Adhami explained that “the drug can actually help in the early stages of liver disease” because the liver becomes inflamed in response to the pathogen.
“It can also affect the scarring process of the tissue and also later in patients with cirrhosis or patients with advanced scar tissue who are prone to primary liver cancer. Coffee is beneficial at this level as well,” he added.
Reaction to the study
A limitation of the study is that its sample consisted of white people from a higher socioeconomic background, so its results may not be universally applicable.
Biochemist Prof. Nathan Davies of the Institute of Liver and Digestion at University College London warned MNT that the study does not prove that coffee is a “superfood against liver disease.” He noted that other studies even “indicate the opposite.”
According to Prof. Davis, the long-term risk and benefits in the study were so small, “only 4 in 1000 coffee drinkers who don’t develop liver disease, compared to 5 in 1000 non-drinkers,” said Prof. Davis. than coffee.
However, Dr. Adhami remained enthusiastic, saying that it would be one thing if we already had effective treatments for all liver diseases: “at the moment, in the absence of an alternative, to drink a beverage that is actually the most consumed beverage in the world.”
It should be noted that the study does not delve into the mechanics of why coffee is so good for the liver.
Dr. Adhami said that as a result of this study, he expects randomized controlled clinical trials testing different coffee molecules against liver disease. “Believe me, this is the most exciting news about liver disease,” he commented.
Lead author Dr. Oliver Kennedy concludes:
“Coffee is widely available, and the benefits we see in our study could mean that it could offer a potential preventive treatment for chronic liver disease. This would be particularly beneficial in countries with lower incomes and poorer access to healthcare, and the highest burden of chronic liver disease.”
