Study Shows Drinking Coffee Can Reduce Risk of Liver Disease

A new study shows drinking any kind of coffee can reduce a person’s risk of liver disease.

Nearly 500,000 people participated in a study that found drinking coffee drastically lowered the risk of developing liver disease. Liver disease causes about 2 million deaths a year, but a new study suggests that the more coffee you drink, the less likely you may develop the sometimes fatal disease, Medical News Today reports.

The study says it doesn’t matter what type of coffee you drink; it’ll all work in lowering your risk of liver disease, fatty liver disease, and liver cancer, as well as death from chronic liver disease. Three to four cups of coffee, decaffeinated or not, shows to be beneficial in lowering liver disease risks. The study showed actual coffee grounds are the best option for consumption when trying to reduce risks.

The nearly 11-year-old study was done by researchers at the Universities of Southhampton and Edinburgh in the United Kingdom. Cleveland Clinic surgeon Dr. Talal Adhami told Medical News Today that the study is “absolutely amazing.”

“There have been smaller studies, and there was an association [between liver health and coffee], but this study actually drew a much bigger association just from the sheer number of patients,” he said. The study authors analyzed the U.K. Biobank health data of 494,585, which they followed and kept up with for nearly 11 years. The study group consisted of 384,818 and 109,767non-coffee drinkers.

The study found that those who drake coffee had a lower risk of liver disease by 21 percent. People who drank coffee from ground beans reduced their risk of liver disease by 35 percent.