Drinking coffee saves liver from alcohol damage

Drinking as little as one cup of coffee a day could help protect you from liver disease caused by alcohol, according to research published today.

People who drink one cup of coffee are 20% less likely to have alcoholic cirrhosis than those who abstain from doing so.

And the protective effect increases with the more coffee you drink: People who drink two or three cups a day are 40% less likely to contract cirrhosis, while those who drink four or more cups are 80% less likely to suffer the disease.

The findings, conducted by researchers at the Kasier Permanente, in Oakland, California, are thought to be the largest study to look at the inverse relationship between coffee and cirrhosis. The link was first reported by researchers at the same institute in 1993 but this new study – of 125,000 people over 22 years – “solidifies the association”, Arthur L Klatsky, the lead author of the study, said.


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