Drinking Coffee Can Save Your Liver and Life

Drinking two or more cups of coffee every day has been shown to reduce the risk of death from chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, according to a recent study.

The study, published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Hepatology, sought to add to a growing pile of evidence that indicates that coffee drinking has impactful health benefits.

According to the study results, researchers found that drinking two or more cups of coffee a say can reduce the risk of death from liver cirrhosis by 66 percent.

Liver cirrhosis, which is the end result of chronic liver damage caused by liver disease, is known to cause fatigue, poor appetite, impotence, abnormal bruising and bleeding, and even confusion, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the condition is estimated to be responsible for 1.3 percent of total deaths worldwide.

But in the United States, liver cirrhosis is only the 11th leading cause of death, getting trumped by cancer, stroke, Alzheimer's disease, and even the flu. According to the latest study, this is likely because the U.S. is a nation of coffee drinkers; with over 50 percent of U.S. adults reporting they drink coffee every day.

Using a prospective population-based study called The Singapore Chinese Health Study, researchers were able to analyze data on over 63,000 healthy Chinese subjects between the ages 45 and 74 years old. Data was collected on these participants' diet, lifestyle, and medical histories provided through questionnaires and phone interviews over the course of five years. Fifteen years later, follow-up data was taken.

It was discovered after the 15-year follow-up that 114 of the participants had died from liver cirrhosis.

In an analysis of all the data collected, the researchers were able to come to the obvious conclusion that individuals who drank higher amounts of alcohol on a regular basis were more likely to die from liver cirrhosis. Interestingly, they also determined that regular intake of coffee could mitigate these risks, with regular coffee drinkers showing a substantially lower risk of death from cirrhosis compared to subjects who did not drink the bitter beverage.

However, viral hepatitis B related cirrhosis risk remained unaffected by coffee drinking, according to the results, showing that only risk of death by liver damage borne of alcohol or medication abuse can be reduced by coffee drinking.

The study was published in Hepatology on April 2.