Coffee Decreases Risks of Liver Cancer

Photo by Kuzeytac

I Love Coffee

In my real life I'm well known to be an avid coffee drinker. My friends, family, and coworkers have often posed the following question: "All that coffee has to be bad for you, right?" I have always fended this question off by saying I typically switch to decaf later in the day and I never add sugar or creamer to my cups. I also never drink specialty coffee; I just drink the pure stuff, low in calories, high in antioxidants. A cup of Joe for me please... or two or five or eight. :)

For me my cravings for coffee have been manageable. When I started getting jitters I started drinking more decaf and have left the jitters in the past. I have even been known to exercise while drinking coffee and have it as a put me down before bed time.

The Liver Cancer Association

Having said all that I have recently found some significant findings which I can now flaunt to all my doubting friends that one more cup of coffee will do me good. Back in August of 2007 the journal Hepatology published an article that concluded that drinking coffee every day could lower your risk for developing liver cancer by 41 percent.

They further identified a 23 percent decrease in risk for the disease for every cup drank and an over all 55 percent decrease in risk for those who drank "a lot". This descriptive caveat however cannot really be pinned down because the published study summarized ten smaller studies. Each study defined a lot a little differently however each study was in unison in their conclusions.

How It Might Work

The researchers speculate that coffee perks up liver enzymes which may decrease risks of cirrhosis and liver cancer. The findings cannot be completely relied upon however because they note that to some extent the findings might still be labeled an association rather than a causation. Until scientists can identify why this link occurs it may be smart to think that early stage liver disease causes in some way people to drink less coffee.

As for me; I'll take my association and live happily knowing that I am on the positive side of the statistics. Score one point for the coffee drinkers.

Source
Hepatology, Aug. 2007
MedicineNet

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