The connection of coffee to liver disease is not as well-known as the connection of alcohol to liver disease is. Alcohol’s connection to liver disease is bad, coffee’s connection is good. Alcohol (abuse) damages the liver. Coffee drinking heals it. How good is coffee — really — to your liver?
[1] What is the role of the liver in our bodies?
Your liver has three main functions. It helps your body digest food, absorb nutrients, and process them. It does all this as part of the digestive system which includes, you know, the stomach and intestines. The pancreas and gall bladder are also part of this digestive process.
Your liver helps your body digest, absorb, and process food through the blood. Only nutrient-rich blood can pass through your liver, not the food. All the nutrients you get from the food you eat and drink are processed in the liver and distributed throughout your body to give you energy. Your liver also acts as a filter that screens out toxins and harmful chemicals in the food you eat.
[2] What are the most common ways that people damage their livers?
You can damage your liver in more ways than one.
Sugar. Too much sugar in your diet can damage your liver. Really??? You bet. Your liver turns excess sugar to fats. And a build-up of fats in the liver makes it fat and does it damage. How about soft drinks and sodas? That ingredient in sodas called ‘high-fructose corn syrup’ is a truck load of sugar for your liver! No kidding.
Medicines. Careful when taking too much pain medication. You can’t just keep popping those acetaminophens every time you feel pain or a headache. They can damage your liver.
Being overweight. Those extra pounds also weigh heavy on your liver. More fat cells on your liver makes your liver swell. This leads to hardening and scarring of your liver. Ever heard of liver chirrosis?
Diseases. Diseases like hepatitis damage the liver. So be careful with sharing needles and bodily fluids.
Alcohol. You’ve known this all along. 1 bottle of beer for women, and 2 for the men — that’s it. More is already “so much more” for your liver.
[3] Is black coffee good for a fatty liver?
Listen. The more coffee you drink the less chances you have of getting liver disease. This means that coffee drinkers are less likely to die of liver disease than non-coffee drinkers. So, drink up! Yes, there are studies to back this up.
That cup or two of black coffee does more wonders to your body than wake up your sleepy head. In particular, black coffee reduces you chances of suffering from non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFLD) simply means you have a fat liver. Coffee slows this down.
[4] Does coffee affect or cause cirrhosis of the liver?
Cirrhosis is serious. It ranks #12 in the leading causes of death in America. Coffee does not cause cirrhosis. On the contrary, coffee will help you prevent cirrhosis. Yes.
According to studies, three cups or more a day promotes liver health in general. It also prevents fibrosis and effectually protects the liver from stiffness or hardening (cirrhosis).
[5] Coffee and liver enzymes. Does it lower them?
What is the importance of liver enzymes? Liver enzymes are like markers. If you have a high level of liver enzymes in your blood, it tells your doctor your liver is damaged. You don’t want that. You want a low level of liver enzymes. And drinking coffee does that. Coffee lowers the presence of liver enzymes in your blood. Multiple studies have shown that drinking an average of 3 cups of coffee per day results in decreased levels of liver enzymes.
[6] Does coffee affect or cause an alcoholic fatty liver?
Alcoholic fatty liver disease (AFLD) is the drunkard among liver diseases. It is commonly associated with heavy use of alcohol that results in cirrhosis. Many alcoholics who suffer from AFLD do not recover unless they completely stop drinking. Many alcoholics who suffer from AFLD may also be vulnerable to other forms of liver diseases like alcoholic hepatitis.
Are you a heavy drinker? There’s a big chance you already have AFLD. The problem is, too often, it’s too late when you find it out. AFLD doesn’t always tell you it’s there until it’s bad enough. If you abuse alcohol, you kill your liver. Slowly but surely.
Coffee has no effect on AFDL. It doesn’t prevent or heal AFDL. But it doesn’t also make it worse.
[7] Is decaf coffee good or bad for your liver?
Is it the caffeine in coffee that does wonders for your liver? Apparently not. Decaf will do the job as well. Obviously, there must be something else in coffee that is doing wonders for the liver. What could it be?
Among the 1,000 chemicals found in coffee, there are a few of them that scientists think are responsible for coffee’s beneficial effects on the liver. When coffee is digested your body produces a chemical that slows down fibrosis. It’s a big word: paraxanthine. Paraxanthine also helps fight liver cancer, NAFLD, AFLD, and hepatitis. It’s not the caffeine.
Coffee also has kahweol and cafestol, 2 chemicals found largely in Arabica beans. Kahweol and cafestol are oils derived from the coffee beans. These have been used in research to aid in the treatment of liver cancer. Next time you order coffee, ask for an Arabica.
Because coffee is acidic, it is also said to help break down the virus that causes hepatitis B.
[8] Can coffee help to repair a liver?
In most cases, coffee slows down the process of fibrosis and helps prevent liver cirrhosis. Coffee has also been found to be responsible for a lot of health benefits that protect the liver, among them the reversal of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
However, serious damage caused by an abuse of alcohol, namely, AFLD is not included. Coffee has no effect on AFLD. AFLD is beyond the reach of coffee’s healing powers. In other words, you can’t abuse alcohol and say to coffee, “Heal me!” It’s not gonna happen.
Follow a healthy lifestyle and eat a balanced diet. Exercise regularly and avoid the things that may damage your liver. This is no air-tight guarantee that you will live long. But it gives you good reason to believe that your body is strong and far from diseases, especially liver diseases.
Enjoy life to the fullest.
Have a cup of coffee.
