Coffee Good for Liver?

In this video we are going to learn about how coffee seems like a promising way to reduce and or prevent chronic liver problems. So I'm going to be reading an excerpt from Dr. Greger's book titled 'How Not to Die' on page 152.

Main Points

• A study was done to see the impact coffee has on reducing liver disease amongst people who are overweight or drink too much alcohol.

• Subjects who drank more than two cups of coffee a day appeared to have less than half the risk of developing chronic liver problems as those who drank less than one cup.

Excerpt:

Back in 1986, a group of Norwegian researchers came across an unexpected finding: Alcohol consumption was associated with liver inflammation (no surprise there), but coffee consumption was associated with less liver inflammation. These results were replicated in subsequent studies performed around the world. In the United States, a study was done with people at high risk for liver disease -- for example, those who were overweight or drink too much alcohol. Subjects who drank more than two cups of coffee a day appeared to have less than half the risk of developing chronic liver problems as those who drank less than one cup.

What about liver cancer, one of the most feared complications of chronic liver inflammation? It is now the third leading cause of cancer-related death, an upsurge driven largely by increases in hepatitis C infections and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

The news is good. A 2013 review of the best studies to date found that people who drank the most coffee had half the risk of liver cancer compared to those who drank the least. A subsequent study found the consumption of four or more cups of coffee a day was associated with 92% lower risk among smokers dying from chronic liver disease. Of course, quitting smoking would have helped as well. Smoking may multiply by as much as tenfold the odds of those with hepatitis C dying from liver cancer. Similarly, heavy alcohol drinkers who consume more than four cups of coffee per day appear to reduce their risk of liver inflammation, but not by nearly as much as people who cut down on alcohol.

But what if you're already infected with hepatitis C or among nearly one in three American adults with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease? Until relatively recently, no clinical trials had been put had put coffee to the test. But in 2013, researchers published a study in which 40 patients with chronic hepatitis C were placed into two groups: The first group consumed four cups of coffee daily for a month, while the second group drank no coffee at all. After 30 days, the groups switched. Of course, two months is not long enough to detect changes in cancer outcomes. But during that time, the researchers were able to demonstrate that coffee consumption may reduce DNA damage, increase the clearance of virus infected cells and slow the scarring process. These results help explain the role coffee appears to play in reducing the risk of liver disease progression.

End of Excerpt