Coffee: It’s good for your liver
You heard it heard it here first: A good strong cup of coffee could be good for your liver. That is what a new report, conducted by the excellent people at the National Cancer Institute, has found.
It states that there is an evident link between coffee and a reduced level of abnormal liver enzymes.
Their latest piece of research can be read in full in the academic journal Hepatology.
So we think it’s time to go and get your favourite beans out and brew yourself a mug or two.
Over 25,000 people – all aged over twenty – had their coffee intake monitored over twenty-four hour period. The researchers then checked the participants’ blood and then checked for the levels of the tongue-twisting and potentially nasty enzymes aminotransferase (ALT), gamma glutamyl transaminase (GGT), aminotransferase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP).
After they had gone through all their results it was noticed that people who consumed three or more cups of coffee a day had lower trace levels of ALT, ALP, AST and GGT compared to those who had less.
This academic study correlates with other previous pieces of research which have shown that a regular intake of coffee is of benefit to our livers.
Back in April we commented about a Singaporean study which discovered that a sustained ‘coffee habit’ was linked to a lower risk of liver cirrhosis and even death.
Even as far back as 2011 we have noticed the odd story concerning the link between liver heath and coffee consumption.
The good news for the connoisseur is that the National Cancer Institute’s research indicates that only freshly ground coffee is linked to lower than normal enzyme levels.
This means that those who still swear by instant coffee or those hoping that caffeine is the key will be very much mistaken.
As well as being linked to positive liver health, previous studies into coffee’s medicinal ability has shown it plays some role in lowering the risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
However, the big question still remains unanswered: Nobody knows why.
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