Coffee cuts risk of alcoholic cirrhosis

June 14, 2006 in Nutrition Topics in the News

Coffee cuts risk of alcoholic cirrhosis

Researchers from the Department of Medicine, Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in California have found that drinking four or more cups of coffee per day could reduce the risk of alcoholic cirrhosis by 80 percent, suggesting an ingredient in coffee may have a protective effect against this type of chronic liver disease.

The study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine examined over 125,000 people between 1978 and 1985. By 2001, 330 people were diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver, 199 of whom had alcoholic cirrhosis.

The researchers found that the higher the daily coffee intake, the lesser the chance of developing alcoholic cirrhosis. In fact, four or more cups per day were associated with an 80 percent lower risk, while one to three cups per day were associated with a 40 percent lower risk.

The ingredient that is responsible for this protective effect still needs to be determined, but researchers do not suspect it has anything to do with the caffeine content.

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