Drinking more coffee may lessen liver damage caused by booze

The morning after you drink too many cocktails, remember to down extra coffee, too – for your liver’s sake.

Drinking two more cups of coffee each day may dramatically lessen the odds of the liver damage caused by excessive alcohol, researchers found.

An analysis of nine studies totaling more than 430,000 participants linked drinking two extra cups of coffee each day to a 44% reduced risk of liver cirrhosis, a disease caused by heavy drinking.

More than 1 million people die annually from cirrhosis, according to the study co-authored by Dr. Oliver Kennedy of Southampton University.

Other causes of cirrhosis include hepatitis and immune disease, as well as excessive fat in the liver tied to obesity and diabetes.

“Cirrhosis is potentially fatal and there is no cure as such,” Kennedy told Reuters, calling the possible connection between the disease and coffee – an affordable beverage found everywhere – “significant.”

While it’s possible coffee could ward off the same disease caused by heavy drinking, it’s not potent enough to cancel out such drinking – or any lifestyle choices that lead to the disease. 
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Nutritionist Samantha Heller of New York University’s Langone Medical Center told Reuters “a few cups of coffee a day cannot undo the systematic damage” of excessive boozing.

Still, in seven of the eight studies analyzed, the risk of the cirrhosis went down as participant’s consumption of coffee went up.

While two cups of coffee dropped the risk of the disease by 44%, drinking four cups of coffee dropped it by 65%.

That noted, the overall health benefits of coffee remain unclear: A 2013 study linked drinking four cups per day to a higher risk of death in those under 55.

Precisely how coffee might inversely link to liver disease isn't clear, either.

Researchers also have questions about whether bean types or brewing methods matter. One study found drinking filtered coffee tied to a stronger reduction in disease risk than boiled coffee.

[h/t Reuters]

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