New study finds Drinking Coffee may reduce your risks for Chronic Liver Disease

A new study of nearly 500,000 people suggests drinking coffee, including decaf, may lower your risk of developing and dying from chronic liver disease and other liver-related problems, with benefits peaking for those who gulp three to four cups a day.

Compared to non-drinkers, people who consume coffee had a 21% reduced risk of chronic liver disease, 20% lower risk of chronic or fatty liver disease, and were 49% less likely to die from chronic liver disease, according to the study published Tuesday in the journal BMC Public Health.

The benefits were more prominent in those who drank ground coffee as opposed to instant coffee, likely because it has high amounts of the ingredients kahweol and cafestol — natural compounds extracted from coffee beans that have been shown to reduce inflammation and stop tumors from growing their own blood vessels, among other beneficial health effects. The ingredients, which have also been found to aid chronic liver disease in animals, can be found in instant coffee as well, but in lower levels. The researchers said this suggests other ingredients in coffee may play a role in reducing risks for liver disease.

Study lead author Dr. Oliver Kennedy of the University of Southampton in the U.K. noted coffee’s accessibility could make it an invaluable asset for lower-income countries with poor access to health care “where the burden of chronic liver disease is highest,” Kennedy said in the statement. “The benefits we see from our study may mean it could offer a potential preventative treatment for chronic liver disease.”

Some risk factors that can increase your risk of liver cancer include obesity, heavy alcohol use, smoking tobacco, infection with the hepatitis B and C viruses, and Type 2 diabetes.  In the U.S., the highest rates of liver cancer can be found among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, followed by people who are Hispanic/Latino, American Indian/Alaska Native, Black and white, according to the American Cancer Society. The average age liver cancer is diagnosed is 63 years old, affecting more men than women.

A lot of conflicting research exists on coffee and its effects on health.

Research suggests moderate coffee drinking is associated with “a lower likelihood of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, liver and endometrial cancers, Parkinson’s disease and depression,” according to Dr. Frank Hu, chair of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

But coffee for certain people, including children, pregnant women and those with anxiety disorders, may be more harmful than helpful. One study published this month on more than 120,000 people found that drinking large amounts of caffeine can increase risks of developing glaucoma specifically for people with certain genes that make them more likely to have high eye pressure — a risk factor for the group of diseases that can cause vision loss and blindness. Others link coffee consumption to short yet dramatic spikes in blood pressure.

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