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Drink coffee to avoid cirrhosis: Study

The benefits (or otherwise) of drinking coffee is a perennial subject. A little while ago Digital Journal ran a feature titled “Is coffee good for you or bad for you?” Here we profiled two competing studies. One from the New England Journal of Medicine found that coffee drinkers “who drank at least two or three cups a day were about 10 percent or 15 percent less likely to die for any reason during the 13 years of the study.” In contrast to this, we profiled a different study that suggested coffee consumption can curtail life expectancy. The study produced statistics like “men under 55 who drank at least 28 cups of coffee per week were 56 percent more likely to have died during the study than men who drank less.” However, this was born more out of correlation than causation.

A new study puts forward some data in favor of coffee drinking, this time in relation to lower rates of liver cirrhosis. This is based on findings published in the journal Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics. The finding is based on a review of the records of 432,133 patients.

The quantity of coffee required, according to the medical site Biotechnology, to produce this effect (a 44 percent reduction in the possibility of liver disease) was two cups per day. The reason? According to the researchers: “Coffee contains a range of biologically active ingredients beyond caffeine, including anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory agents, such as chlorogenic acid, kahweol and cafestol, and there is evidence that these may confer protection against liver fibrosis.”

The current study supports a study published in 2013 (also covered by Digital Journal) about lower incidences of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) with higher coffee consumption. PSC is an autoimmune liver disease that is very rare. PSC can lead tocirrhosisof the liver,liver failure and biliary cancer.

Adding to this, the European Science Foundation has found regular coffee consumption is associated with a lower incidence of diabetes; and a Swedish study reported that breast cancer rates are lower with frequent coffee drinking.

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Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news. Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, business, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.

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