A Cleveland Clinic liver specialist, Wakim-Fleming, has shared an important way coffee might be helping your health, and might potentially even lower your risk of getting liver cancer.
The doctor explains that your liver is the starting organ that metabolizes foods. And due to this, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease can happen when extra fat accumulates in your liver—and, the data shows that “one in four Americans have some form of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, mostly people who are obese or have diabetes.”
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease can also cause cirrhosis of the liver, which can cause death from liver cancer or liver failure.
But Wakim-Fleming noted some good news: one common morning habit that has a significant impact in keeping all these disorders away is drinking coffee.
The G.I. specialist explained that it is very helpful when it comes to preventing nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Supporting research also shows that coffee can even help guard the liver from further illness if the individual was already diagnosed with liver conditions.
Wakim-Fleming says the benefits of coffee come from one fact: Coffee has antioxidants and other compounds that play a huge role in lowering liver inflammation.
She also gave some advice on how to make coffee even more beneficial at protecting your liver from nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
To give the most protection, she says, don’t drink decaf—instead you have to drink regular coffee. She added that is because caffeine has inherent properties that are good for the liver.
She also said you should drink coffee daily, since it only gives a benefit if consumed routinely. Her recommended coffee dose? Three cups per day.
One this topic, Cleveland Clinic noted: “If you have irregular heart rhythm or rate or other heart issues, excessive coffee drinking could be dangerous. Coffee could also cause issues if you have lung cancer.”