Coffee and the Liver
A British Liver Trust report (published June 2016) ‘Coffee and the liver – the potential health benefits’ confirms coffee is good for liver health. It is the first time that the entire body of current research and evidence has been reviewed and compiled into a single report.
The report provides evidence that:
- Regularly drinking moderate amounts of coffee may prevent liver cancer – the World Health Organisation has recently confirmed this reduced risk after reviewing more than 1,000 studies in humans
- Coffee also lowers the risk of other liver conditions including fibrosis (scar tissue that builds up within the liver) and cirrhosis
- Drinking coffee can slow the progression of liver disease in some patients
- Beneficial effects have been found however the coffee is prepared – filtered, instant and espresso
However, it is important to remember that although drinking coffee may protect you from developing liver disease and can in addition help those who already have some degree of liver damage – the key messages for good liver health remain reducing the amount of alcohol we drink, eating a good diet, drinking plenty of water, doing regular exercise and keeping to a healthy weight.
You can read the full report here: Coffee consumption and the liver - the potential health benefits
In November 2017, a roundtable report from the Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee ‘Looking after the liver: coffee, caffeine and lifestyle factors’ provided further information on the potential role of coffee consumption in reducing the risk of liver diseases such as liver cancer and cirrhosis.
