According to latest scientific research drinking more coffee might can help reduce the risk of liver damage.
According toresearchers at Southampton University a person who drinks two additional cups of coffee a day can lower their chances of developing liver cirrhosis (liver disease) by 44%.
The lead author on the study (which involved data analysis on 430,000 people) Dr Oliver Kennedy said: “Cirrhosis is potentially fatal and there is no cure as such.” “Therefore, it is significant that the risk of developing cirrhosis may be reduced by consumption of coffee, a cheap, ubiquitous and well-tolerated beverage.
Cirrhosis involves a hardening and destruction of liver tissue and kills more than 1 million people every year worldwide. It can be caused by hepatitis infections, excessive alcohol consumption, immune disorders and fatty liver disease, which is tied to obesity and diabetes.
Kennedy and his colleagues revealed that they did a pooled analysis of average coffee consumption across earlier studies to see how much adding two additional cups each day might influence the odds of liver disease. Combined, the studies included 1,990 patients with cirrhosis. In eight of the nine studies analyzed, increasing coffee consumption by two cups a day was associated with a significant reduction in the risk of cirrhosis.
In all but one study, the risk of cirrhosis continued to decline as daily cups of coffee climbed. Compared to no coffee consumption, researchers estimated one cup a day was tied to a 22% risk of cirrhosis. With two cups, the risk dropped by 43%, while it declined 57% for three cups and 65% with four cups.