Make that black coffee order a double.
Upping
your coffee intake may help reduce your chances of developing
alcohol-related cirrhosis, according to a review done by the journal Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics of multiple existing studies.
Drinking
just two more cups of coffee every day may lower the risk of developing
the liver condition by 44%, according to researchers who analyzed nine
studies that examined the relationship between coffee consumption and
the risk of cirrhosis.
More
than 430,000 participants were a part of the nine studies. The duration
of these studies varied, but the longest one lasted about 20 years. In
eight of the nine studies examined, researchers found increasing coffee
consumption by two cups per day was "associated with a statistically
significant reduction in the risk of cirrhosis." The review, published
January 25, is the first meta-analysis to show the potential protective
properties of coffee.
Dr.
Oliver Kennedy, who conducted the research as part of a team at
Southampton University in the United Kingdom, told CNN the team combined
the data of these existing studies to calculate a more precise
relationship between coffee and the risk of cirrhosis.
They found that the risk of cirrhosis was
lower at higher levels of coffee consumption. "For example, compared to
no coffee, 1 cup per day was associated with a 22% lower risk of
cirrhosis and 4 cups per day was associated with a 65% lower risk.
However, there may be an upper limit beyond which there is no further
benefit," Kennedy said.
But while
coffee may reduce the risk of cirrhosis, it will not fully counteract
the harmful effects of excess alcohol consumption, Kennedy added.
Cirrhosis
is a condition that deteriorates the liver, replacing healthy tissue
with scar tissue that blocks blood flow. Common causes for the liver
disorder are chronic hepatitis infections, excessive alcohol
consumption, immune diseases, obesity and diabetes. And the damaging
condition can be fatal, according to the National Institution of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).
However, Dr. Hillel Tobias, a liver specialist and chairman of the American Liver Foundation's National Medical Advisory Committee,
says the possible preventative effects of coffee are not new. A 2015
reported cited a potential link between coffee's health benefits and cirrhosis preventions.
"The
problem is that most professionals in the liver community find this
hard to accept," Tobias told CNN. "The physiological and biochemical
basis has not been established and some experimental evidence is needed.
Right now, many of these studies are based on historical information
provided by patients."
Tobias said the
possibility of patient subjectivity and statistical errors makes him
leery of such studies claiming to have a simple fix for cirrhosis.
It
should also be noted that some of the studies that were reviewed did
not account for other risk factors for cirrhosis like obesity and
diabetes, Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics says in its report.
The
findings mean more research is needed, Kennedy said. "We now need to
conduct proper clinical trials, similar to those necessary for
authorization of a new pharmaceutical product, so that doctors and
health policy makers can make specific recommendations, he said.
It's
important to also keep in mind that the amount of alcohol-related liver
damage varies from person to person, Tobias explained. For example,
women can't metabolize alcohol as quickly as men. Maintaining healthy
eating and drinking habits is a good way to prevent some cases of
cirrhosis, according to Tobias.
In
the United States, alcoholism is the second-most common cause of
cirrhosis. Excessive alcohol consumption can lead to fat accumulation
and inflammation of the liver, according to NIDDK.
It's recommended that moderate drinking for men is two drinks per day and one drink per day for women, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
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