Study Suggests Caffeine Can Help Liver
Coffee and tea may reduce the risk of serious liver damage in people who drink too much alcohol, are overweight or have too much iron in the blood, researchers reported yesterday.The study of nearly 10,000 people showed that those who drank more than two cups of coffee or tea per day developed chronic liver disease at half the rate of those who drank less than one cup each day.
The study, conducted by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and Social & Scientific Systems Inc., found that coffee provided no protection to people at risk of liver disease from other causes, such as viral infections.
Writing in the American Gastroenterological Association journal Gastroenterology, Ruhl and colleagues said caffeine seemed to hold the key.
They analyzed the records of 9,849 participants in a government survey whose coffee and tea intake was evaluated and who were followed for about 19 years.
Hot damn. I think I'm mixing up an Irish coffee to celebrate! I don't know if it fits into Irish trad or not (my Irish roots are fairly generic, and added via choice. Other than the fact that several of my ancestors were from Cork, Ireland, and parts nearby, by the time I was born, everyone was just 'American'), but I also enjoy adding a splash of Jameson's to a cup of tea.
Anyway, good news.
