Researchers from the University of Southampton and the University of Edinburgh found that drinking two cups of coffee per day lowers the risk of liver cancer by one third, according to The Telegraph.
Coffee is no doubt a popular drink — recent statistics show that American consumers drank, on average, 1.64 cups of coffee per day, and about 80% of guests will accept coffee or tea at a party. Now, they have one more reason to add it to their daily routine.
The study, which examined data from 26 other studies and looked at over 2.25 million participants, discovered that those who consumed higher amounts of coffee had a lowered risk of developing hepatocellular cancer, the most common type of liver cancer.
These results aren’t the first to demonstrate the benefits of coffee or caffeine, both mental and physical. Past studies have concluded that caffeine can also improve memory skills, which is good news for the one in every eight people over the age of 65 in the United States who have Alzheimer’s.
Other studies have even shown the extension of coffee benefits to psychological levels — the Harvard School of Public Health performed a study that showed that women who drink four or more cups of coffee each day have a lower risk of depression. Considering that one in seven baby boomers say they are currently being treated for depression, these results beg the question of whether coffee or caffeine itself may be a more natural alternative for prescription medications that sometimes have disastrous side effects — more than a quarter of all Americans and two out of every three older Americans have multiple chronic conditions, and natural remedies can often be just as effective, if not more effective, in treating illnesses and ailments of all kinds.
The authors of the study wrote, “it may be important for developing coffee as a lifestyle intervention in CLD (chronic liver disease), as decaffeinated coffee might be more acceptable to those who do not drink coffee or who limit their coffee consumption because of caffeine-related symptoms.”
Dr Oliver Kennedy of the University of Southampton, author of the study, said, “Coffee is widely believed to possess a range of health benefits, and these latest findings suggest it could have a significant effect on liver cancer risk.”
Professor Peter Hayes from the University of Edinburgh, concluded: “Coffee has also been reported to reduce the risk of death from many other causes. Our research adds to the evidence that, in moderation, coffee can be a wonderful natural medicine.”