Coffee limits liver damage

Drinking three or more alcoholic beverages per day increases the likelihood of developing liver cancer, but research now suggests that drinking coffee may help offset that risk. In an ongoing analysis of cancer rates, scientists from the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) looked at data from 34 previous studies involving 8 million adults, including 24,600 diagnosed with liver cancer. They found that among heavy drinkers, a regular coffee habit of just one cup per day reduced the risk for liver cancer by nearly 14 percent.

It remains unclear how coffee works to reduce cancer rates, but scientists speculate that its various compounds help clear the liver of harmful toxins. “Both coffee and coffee extracts have been shown to reduce the expression of genes involved in inflammation,” the researchers’ report said. “And the effects appear to be most pronounced in the liver.”