If you didn’t already love a cup (or two) of coffee, then here’s one more reason to do so.
According to researchers at Monash University, drinking two or more cups of coffee each day will go a long way to preventing liver disease.
In fact, according to the research, two cups a day will even go as far as reducing the damage caused by hepatitis C by almost 13 per cent, whilst four cups can help reduce the symptoms of fatty liver disease by around 24 per cent. Fatty liver disease is the most common form of liver disease that affects around 40 per cent of Australians.
The health benefits of coffee can reduce the impact of liver disease, even when taking into account high risk factors such as being overweight, alcohol intake and smoking.
“Certainly moderate amounts of coffee, depending on the liver disease you’re looking at, seem to be associated with less liver damage and probably less liver fat, as well,” says Dr Alex Hodge, a liver specialist at Monash Health.
Currently, 6 million Australians experience, or have experienced, some form of liver disease, the three most common forms being fatty liver disease, hepatitis B and hepatitis C.
“The most striking results were found in patients with hepatitis C,” said Dr Hodge. “Two or more cups of coffee led to an improvement in their liver disease.”
The research adds to the ever increasing list of health benefits of coffee, but, interestingly, the same beneficial effects for the liver were not found for drinking tea.
And although past research suggests that caffeine may be the main catalyst for the health benefits of coffee, don’t discount the benefits of drinking decaffeinated coffee.
“Decaffeinated coffee certainly has some effect, but certainly not to the degree that caffeinated coffee would have,” said Dr Hodge.
Do you enjoy a cup of coffee each day? How many cups do you drink each day? Do the results of this research motivate you to drink more? Or are you happy with your current intake?
Read the Monash University report.
