Consuming large amounts of coffee may reduce the risk of liver disease

The cup of coffee you drink daily may reduce your risk of liver disease or liver cancer, even if you drink five or more cups a day, according to a new large-scale study. The results of the study, which were published in the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology on Wednesday, were based on following more than 354,000 participants for more than a decade.

“This is probably the most comprehensive study in terms of long-term follow-up data on the effect of coffee,” said the study's lead author, Dr. Hyunsuk Kim, a liver transplant specialist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He added: "We notice that the benefit to the liver is more related to the antioxidant effects found in coffee, not caffeine, because we have observed similar benefits in those who drink decaffeinated coffee."

In the study, the researchers measured the incidence of liver disease by the number of cases of cirrhosis, which is permanent scarring and damage to the liver, which may result from a number of chronic liver diseases, especially when not treated, such as: Cirrhosis affects more than 58 million people around the world, and causes the death of about 1.5 million people annually. As for hepatocellular carcinoma, which is the type of liver cancer that the study focused on, it is the most common type of liver cancer, with about 685,000 cases and more than 597,000 deaths recorded globally annually.

The researchers found that the potential protective effect of coffee generally increased with increasing amount of consumption. Drinking has been linked: “These are remarkable numbers for something as simple as drinking a cup of coffee a day,” Lauren Maneker, a registered dietitian who was not involved in the study, told Ofoq News.

But she stressed that "these results show an association, not a causal relationship." Drinking coffee safely The researchers also found that the risk reduction for people who sweetened their coffee with sugar or alternative sweeteners was slightly lower, but remained generally similar.

You should also pay attention to the amount of sugar, artificial sweeteners, and ultra-processed coffee creamers you add to your drink, they reported. Participants who used the sweeteners showed an increase in a marker associated with hepatitis, which may contribute to fatty liver disease, said Kim, who is also an assistant professor in the KARCH Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

The American Heart Association recommends that consumption of added sugars not exceed 6% of total daily calories, which is equivalent to 9 teaspoons, or 36 grams, for men, and 6 teaspoons, or 26 grams, for women. The US Food and Drug Administration also recommends that caffeine consumption should not exceed 400 milligrams per day in healthy adults, which is equivalent to about two to three cups of coffee with a volume of 355 ml per cup.

But the body's sensitivity to caffeine and the speed of its metabolism vary greatly from one person to another. To avoid the effect of caffeine on sleep, it is recommended to stop drinking it at least six hours before the usual bedtime, while some experts recommend not consuming any drinks containing caffeine after three o’clock in the afternoon.

Questions that need answers The new study, using advanced magnetic resonance imaging and other analyses, showed that coffee drinkers also had better health indicators of liver proteins, along with lower levels of fat and inflammation in the liver. “The real power of the study is the combination of three levels of evidence,” said Lauren Maneker, owner of Nutrition Now Counseling, a nutrition consulting and outreach company based in Charleston, South Carolina.

“When imaging results match protein markers and clinical findings, the overall picture becomes more reliable than if we based it on just one measure.” However, the study has some important limitations.

The researchers measured coffee consumption only at the beginning of the study, and then when conducting MRI examinations after 10 years or more, which is a long period during which other factors may appear to affect the results. “This early measurement should be treated as a rough indicator of long-term habits, not an exact record of them,” Maneker said.

Kim added that more than 90% of the participants were of European origin and relatively health conscious, and only 10% of the total participants had undergone MRI examinations. “There may be some bias in the results,” Kim added.

Whether these benefits will be achieved at the same level among diverse ethnic groups, such as the population of the United States, requires further studies to confirm.” He explained that the antioxidants found in coffee, regardless of whether it contains caffeine, may help reduce the activation of pathways or proteins that lead to inflammation and scarring of the liver.

It is not only the liver that may benefit from drinking coffee, as many other studies have shown its association with: a reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes,